CIHM 

ICIMH 

Microfiche 

Collection  de 

Series 

microfiches 

(Monographs) 

(monographies) 

Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductlons  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductiona  historiquas 


f 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


ry(     Coloured  covers  / 


D 

D 

D 
D 

D 
D 
D 
D 

D 


Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommagte 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  lllustratk>ns  / 
Planches  et/ou  ilhistrattons  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  editk>n  available  / 
Seule  dditk)n  disponible 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  retiure  serr6e  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsmn  le  k)r«g  de 
la  marge  intdrieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoratkNis  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  timing  /  II  se  peut  que  certSBnes 
pages  blanches  ajoutdes  lors  d'une  restauratkm 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  kxsque  oeto  dtait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  dt6  fllmdes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
i\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  nrxjdifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  m^th- 
ode  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

I     I     CokHired  pages/ Pages  de  couleur 

I     I      Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag^es 

I     I      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
' — '      Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  pellkxildes 

r^     Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
' — '      Pages  dteotor^es,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

I     I     Pages  detached  /  Pages  ddtach^es 

r^  Showthrough/ Transparence 

D 


D 
D 


D 


Quality  of  print  varies  / 
Quaiitd  indgale  de  I'impressmn 

Includes  supplementary  material  / 
Comprend  du  materiel  si^ppldmentaire 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages 
totalement  ou  partiellement  obscurcies  par  un 
feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  4^6  filmdes 
d  nouveau  de  fa$on  k  obtenir  la  mellleure 
image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  dteol- 
orattons  sont  filmtes  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


Addttnnal  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires: 


This  itmn  it  f ihnad  at  tiM  raduction  ratio  ctiaekad  bakM*/ 

Ct  documant  tit  f  ilmi  au  taux  da  reduction  mdiqui  ci-da»otn. 

10X  14X  ItX 


22X 


2«X 


30X 


_v 

1 

12X 


1«X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  hat  b—n  raproducad  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

McMaster  University 
Hamilton,  Ontario 

Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
poasibia  eonsidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  tpacificationa. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
aion,  or  tha  back  cowar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  beginning  on  th« 
f  irat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
aion,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  impraaaion. 


Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  aymbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appliea. 

Mapa.  plataa.  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  In  one  exposure  mrm  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hond  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framea  aa 
required.  The  following  diograma  illuatrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  raproduit  grica  A  !• 
g4n4rosit*  da: 

HcHaster  University 
Hamilton,  Ontario 

Lea  images  suivantea  ont  ttt  raproduitcs  avac  la 
plua  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nanet*  de  rexempiaira  film*,  at  tn 
conformity  avac  lea  eonditiona  du  central  de 
filmage. 

Lee  exemplairea  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  •» 
papier  eat  imprim^a  sont  filmte  an  commancant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  aalon  le  cas.  Tous  lea  autres  axemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmts  nn  commenpant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  d'illuatration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darniire  paga  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
caa:  le  symbols  ^»>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symboie  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planchaa.  tableaux,  etc..  pauvant  itra 
film*s  A  dee  taux  de  reduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  il  est  filmi  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagea  nAcaaaaire.  Lea  diagrammea  suivants 
illuatrent  la  mAthoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  TIST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CliART  No.  2) 


la  12.8 

tmm 

u  LI 

M22 

Hi  1^ 

OjO 

■UH 

/1PPLIED  IIVHGE 


teSJ  EosI  Main  StrW 
Rochtsltr,  N«w  rork 
(716)  «2-0300- 
(716)  288-5989  -Fox 


'9       USA 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


ESSAYS  AND  DIALOGUES 

ON 

SUBJECTS  SACERDOTAL 


BT 


ARTHUR  BARRY  O'NEILL.  CSC     LI    n 


oardotal  Ba/tguardt,"  tto. 


Third  Edition 

(TIfth  Thouund) 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

p.  o.  BOX  ata 
NOTRE  DAM^.   INDIANA 


PttmHtn  9ttpctionim 

OILBERTUS  PRANCAI8, 

t 

Bupt,  Oen.  Conpr.  a  f.  Ormet. 


mw  •bitat 


J.  B.  8CHEIBR,  C.  B.  C. 


Ctnaer  Daputatu: 


fmptlituittic 


lil  H*.  J.  ALERDINO, 


BUhop  of  Fort  Wavnt 


oopyniOHT,  iti«, 

•T 

A.  B.  O'NCILI. 


HAMItCHD   »(•• 
».   •.   eOHIIET  OOHMNT 

OHioaao 


TO 
IN  MEMORY 

OP  THE  VALIANT  WOMAN   WHO  GAVE 
ME  EAm  HLY  LIFE,  AND 

IN  HONOR 

OP  THE  IMMACULATE  QUEEN  THROUGH 
WHOSE  POTENT  INTERCESSION  I  HOPE 
POR    UPE    ETERNAL,     THIS     BO  IS 


CONTENTS 


OBAtTMB 

Foreword  - 

I    Minor  Devotions  of  the  Priestly  Day n 

II.    The  Priest  a  Gentlonan 28 

IIL    Fatter  Tom  Says  the  Dry  Mass   (A  Rubrical 

I>»logao)  42 

IV.    The  Priest  and  the  Press gj 

V.    A  Clerio's  Correspondence 7g 

VL    Clerical  Wit  and  Humor 92 

Vn.    Our  Queen  and  Mother ]jl 

Vin.  The  Priesf 8  Visits  (A  Conference  Discussion) . .  128 

IX.    The  Priest  in  the  Sick-Eoom 145 

X.    Spiritual  Outings  igo 

XL    The  Longevi^  of  Priests Igl 

XIL    Priestly  Loyalty  to  Mother  Church 198 

XnL    TheTiokt  Stole 214 

XIV.    At  the  Clerical  Club 231 

XV.    The  Print's  Exemplar 2« 


H    I 


FOREWORD 

TJ^HEN  a  performer  on  the  public  or  private 
▼V  stage,   having   sung  his  song,  delivered  his 
monologue,  or  played  his  solo  on  piano  or  violin, 
makes  his  bow  to  his  audience  and  retires  behind 
the  scenes,  he  is  naturally  interested  in  the  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  the  plaudits  tiiat  greet  his  ef- 
fort   His  wish  being  fattier  to  his  thought,  it 
sometimes  happens  tiiat  he  mistakes  a  brief  round 
of  perfunctory  applause  for  a  genuine  recall,  and 
forthwith  responds  with  an  unsolicited  encore.    In 
much  tiie  same  way  an  author  may  misinterpret 
the  generous  praise  lavished  on  his  first  work  as 
a  demand  on  the  part  of  his  readers  for  tiie  pub- 
lication of  a  second  one;  and  I  am  possibly  pre- 
sumptuous in  calling  this  book  a  sort  of  encore 
more  or  less  justified  by  the  critical  handclap- 
pings  which  greeted  a  volume  of  similar  scope 
published  in  1914\    Yet  tiie  assurances  received 
from  scores  of  ecclesiastictl  dignitaries,  that  tiie 
volume  in  question  is  really  wortii  while  and  cal- 
culated to  do  not  a  littie  good,  may  well  excuse 
ones  ambition  to  make  anotfier  venture  in  the 
same  field,  especially  as  these  assurances  have 
been  corroborated  by  tiie  Catholic  press  in  re- 
views, of  which  the  following  extracts— the  first 
from  America,  the  second  from  the  London  Tab- 
let-are  typical:     «.   .   .  The  Mn^  of  book  of 
which  you  say  at  once  that  no  one  can  afford  to 
be  without  it;  certainly  no  priest  or  clerical  stu- 
dent.    A  nice  combination  of  humor  and  com- 
mon  sense  and  the  wisdom  of  experience.  .  .   .** 

*"Prtertly  Praetlo*.'' 


! 


I'i 


8 


POBEWOBD 


A  thoroughly  saUsfactory  work.  Priests  in 
search  of  a  really  good  book  on  priestly  life  and 
duUes.  full  of  sound  advice  conveyed  in  an  ^t- 
tracbve  form,  should  lose  no  time  in  procuring  a 
copy  of  this  publication."  * 

Unlike  the  former  work,  the  present  volume 
contams  only  two  essays  that  are  reprints.  "The 
p"fi  I  GenUeman"  and  "The  Priest  and  the 

P^w  «•  ?^^"F^^'■^*^  ^°  '•«^^°t  "sues  of  the 
fcclenasUcal  Review,  and  are  reproduced  with 
the  gracious  permission  of  that  periodical's  rev- 
erend  editor.  The  author's  purpose  in  those  two 
chapters,  as  in  all  the  others.  h7s  been  to  f urnhh 

r^^cSn^' ",7«r.'^'?K^*'?'"^  ^*^  «°°^^  >i"t"al 
^!?^  ♦  u""*'"?"'  **'^*  "  practical  and  helpful, 
without  being  dull,  prosy,  heavy,  or  ultra-ascetk 

.Jr"\'^'''^^^  ^'  «^^^^  in  reference  to  such 

tTereTthlf^n''"^  '^""^  ""^  ^PP^^'^  ^-«  -^ 
here  m  the  following  pages.  I  disclaim  any  pre- 
tension whatever  to  pose  as  an  exemplar^  Td 
authontative  censor  of  my  clerical  brethren,  and 
if  fhV«'  .^"^?r  *°  ^^^^^^^  that  there  is  nothing 
It  fK  ^"^'  *^^*  ^P"'  humility^  in  the  statement 
that  the  severest  strictures  in  the  book  are  ad- 
dressed, primarily  and  principally,   to  the  one 

Zf  ,1?*'  tr  P— ^"ty^and'^'habits  I  7r^ 
most  thoroughly  conversant,-myself  To  Z 
quite  candid,'  while  the  most  censorious  para 
^aphs  m  the  volume  were  being  written  mv 
typewriter  s  keys  seemed  to  be  contin^Ily  di^k"^ 
raV"^^lV'"^"'*''^«  iteration,  the  one  t 

hrihy-s^:^-  --  'r^oVrrr 

Feast  of  the  Epiphany.  1916.   * 


PREFACE 

(To  Third  Edition) 
'T'HE  first  edition  of  this  book  was  disposed  of  so 
A  rapidly  tliat,  when  the  second  edition  .was 
published,  only  a  few  Catholic  periodicals  had  en- 
joyed the  opportunity  of  pronouncing  on  the 
work's  merits  or  defects.  Since  that  time,  how- 
ever, the  book  has  been  welcomed  in  the  majority 
of  Catholic  editorial  rooms  in  this  country,  Can- 
ada, Great  Britain,  Australia.  South  Africa,  and 
India;  and  to  the  appreciative  reviews  and  noUces 
which  it  has  received  is  no  doubt  ?  e  in  great 
measure  the  present  necessity  of  issuing  yet  an- 
other edition. 

Typical  instances  of  the  kindly  nature  of  these 
reviews  or  notices  may  prove  not  uninteresUng  to 
new  readers  of  the  volume.  The  London  Catholic 
Times  says,  in  part:  "This  book,  intended  for 
the  pnesthood,  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  books 
of  Its  class  that  have  come  under  our  notice  for 
many  a  year.  It  is  a  gathering  of  essays  and  dia- 
lo^es,  varying  considerably  one  from  another, 
and  of  such  keen  interest  for  pastors  of  souls  that 
when  the  fifteen  chapters  have  all  been  carefully 
perused  we  rise  from  the  literary  banquet  with  an 
appetite  for  more!"  Not  less  interesting,  perhaps, 
IS  this  extract  from  the  late  Joyce  Kilmer's  review 
of  the  book  in  the  New  York  Times:  "The  au- 
thors touch  is  so  light  and  sure,  his  knowledge  so 
comprehensive,  and  his  style  so  charming  that  it 

oft  !k  ^P^*^.*^^*  ^^  ^"*  ^"^**^^'-  develop  some 
of  the  themes  m  this  book  and  put  his  cross-sec- 
tions of  clerical  life  into  the  form  of  short  stories 
and  noveh. 

Solemnity  of  St.  Joseph,  1920. 

9 


HI 


I 

MINOR  DEVOTIONS  OF  THE  PRIESTLY  DAY 

oiwcujr,  and  do  the  most  to  advanee  us  in  Derfeetion     Mw-^t 

IN  view  of  the  insistence  with  which  the  prophets 
1  and  sages,  ttie  philosophers  and  poets,  the  es- 
sayisto  and  publicists,  the  preachers  and  teachers 
of  all  ages  have  dwelt  on  the  importance  of  lit- 
tle ttangs,  b-ifles,  details,  it  is  somewhat  surpris- 
ing ttiat  so  large  a  number  of  men  in  every  walk 
of  hfe  have  failed  to  learn  the  lesson.  That  the 
theory  of  the  sages  has  been  verified  by  practical 
expenence  throughout  the  centuries  should  prove 
a  sufficient  reason,  it  would  seem,  why  we  should 
fJLT  ^'f  *°  ^^  apparently  little  things  of 

bin  ''""?''^?  °°  ^^  ^^^^^""^^  «f  vision,  the 
broadnew  of  mind,  the  elevation  of  spirit  which 
disregards  as  unworthy  of  our  attention  mltter^ 

^olv^''  T^"^  ''"""^^  ™i°ds,  Uie  "pean^ 
pohhaans-  of  the  world  around  us.  consider  em^- 


11 


18 


CLERICAL  COLLOQ  JIBS 


nenUy  worth  while.  In  this  disregard  of  any 
other  Uian  the  big  things  of  life  (or  the  thi^ 
we  look  upon  as  big),  we  are  simply  proving  iSS 
our  perspective  is  false,  our  sense  of  proportion 
erroneous.      As  Fenelon  has  wisely  ^emXd! 

of  htUe  things  "It  is.  ou  the  contrary,  from  Too 
naiTow  views  that  we  consider  those  things  of  m° 

cl^q^urceT'  "'^^'  ''^^^^  ^°  ^«^*'  -^^  -»-^- 

«„v"n*Sfr  1°°^  ^°°*"°  ^°  ^^^*^^'  n>ore  than  'n 
'n^L  •  *^^  P^'^^''  *°^  significance  of  litUe 
^mn^  compel  attention,  it  may  well  be  the  spirit- 

n";^u?tha7  °'  *'^  "*"^°'  ^^^-  "  "  P-- 

There  is  no  great  and  no  small 
To  the  Soul  that  maketh  all; 

and  no  one  who  has  taken  to  heart  the  lesson  of 
the  widow's  mite  and  the  cup  of  cold  water  gfven 
in  the  name  of  Christ  can  logically  flout  tiie  im- 

tant  these  acts  may  appear  to  be.  Now,  in  the 
daily  hfe  of  the  priest  there  are  duties,  functions! 
and  employments  of  varying  degrees  of  impor' 
tance.  one  of  them  (the  oifice)  bifding  fub^Zi 
others  subleui.  while  yet  oUiers  are  merely  be- 
coming and  commendable  rather  than  in  any  de- 
me  obhgatonr.  In  Uiis  last-mentioned  categonr 
may  perhaps  be  placed  the  greater  number  of  °h^ 

of  these  exercises  constitute  his  major,  and  which 
his  mmor.  devotions  may  be  a  matter  of  opinion; 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


18 


this  or  that  author's  division  is  safe  to  be  charac- 
terized by  a  good  many  as  inexact,  and  indeed 
from  the  nature  of  the  case  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered as  other  than  arbitrary  and  purely  per- 
sonal. The  majority  of  priests  will  probably  de- 
clare that  their  major  devotions  are  properly  only 
two:  the  celebration  of  daily  Mass  and  the  obliga- 
tory recitaUon  of  their  OiBce.  A  respectable 
mmonty  can  at  need  advance  forceful  arguments 
Tfruu"!?^"*  *P  **»«««  *wo  a  third,  daily  meditaUon. 
With  this  minority  the  present  writer  ranges  him- 
self, all  the  more  readily  as  he  has  In  a  former 
volume  treated  each  of  these  exercises  at  some 
'1:,  The  present  essay  accordingly  has  to  do 
with  daily  devotions  other  than  meditation,  the 
Mass,  and  the  Office. 

The  first  of  tiiese  minor  devotions  to  chaUenge 
attention  and  invite  comment  is  one  which  at  first 
blush  may  seem  scarcely  separable  from  the  sec- 
ond of  the  major  exercises  mentioned  above,  the 
celebration  of  the  adorable  Sacrifice;  yet  thanks- 
pvmg  after  Mass  is.  both  in  theory  and  in  prac- 
tice, so  widely  different  from  the  Mass  itself  that  it 
may  well  call  for  comments  all  its  own.  That 
It  IS  a  devotion  as  thoroughly  fruitful  of  benefi- 
cent results  as  it  is  not  infrequently  minimized 
and  occasionally  neglected,  is  a  truth  susceptible 
of  tiie  fullest  demonstration,  if  indeed  it  be  not 

m,»     T^f  r  *°  ''^°'*^''  demonstration  superflu- 
ous.   That  the  most  precious  and  most  favorable 
of  all  moments  for  strengthening  our  union  wiUi 
tK»d,  as  for  tendering  Him  our  worship  and  praise 
appeasing  Him  for  our  manifold  offences,  &: 


14 


CLBMOAL  COLLOQUTBB 


I 


i 


toj  Him  for  Hit  mulUtudfaout  put  graeo  uid  •». 

^»MH  !a  J.ur  he.rto.-lhlf  surely  .dnUlTofno 
queeUon.    The  moet  tepid  «  rea^  u  fte  mil 

JJ^^wiU  perliep.  di«»u«e   mo.1    eloquent^ 

InteUeclual  apprehendon  of  a  truth,  however^ 
is  one  thine:  and  the  effective  wUl  to  ttm^^^l 
£■»*«•  ^  'feorjlmce  with  the  obVtoul  cSSt 
laries  of  th„t  truth  is  quite  another.    If  priestoto- 

Uefs.  if  th.j,  uniformly  practiced  what  they  prei^ 

Mcerdotal  retreats,  and  sUU  less  of  bookriUte 
Tr-T,  fcS'","^'*""'^-  y'lJort-'nately.  is  almost 

f  Jk^'  "V?*  **''  ""y  brethren.    To  be  thor- 
oughly consfateni  about  this  devotion  of  whSi 

through  the  whole  forenoon,  just  as  the  whSe 
^em«,n  .hould  be  mainly  detotcd"   o^  p„t 

f^  o?  ft.  ti*!""  "^  **  '°"»'*^  -y  nZ 

lew  of  the  Saints,  whose  example  we  are  •■••>. 
posed  to  imitate,  so  regarded  thefr  w^i4^*J^ 

of^r,!    •'''  Tu  "" '"  *«°"  abundant  sh^^ 
moSS^     ™«  **  ""«''""  harvest-Ume  of  early 

One  consideration  which  affected  the  thanb- 


MINOB  DBVOnCNS 


18 


giving  of  tuch  of  the  Saints  u  were  prieiU  ap- 
peals to  tlie  intelligence  and  common  sense  of  all 
of  us  as  strongly  perhaps  as  it  did  to  theirs:  we, 
not  less  whole-heart<    y  than  they,  believe  that 
the  Mass  is  incomparably  the  greatest,  sublimest, 
most  excellent  action  performable  on  earth.   The- 
oretically, we  admit  without  any  reserve  what- 
ever that  no  other  act,  function,  business,  con- 
cern, affair,  work,  task,  or  duty  that  can  possibly 
be  scheduled  for  our  day  possesses  anything  like 
the  inherent  importance  of  the  morning  Sacrifice; 
yet  in  practice  how  ofien  do  we  not  apparently 
regard  it  as  a  mere  preliminary  exercise  to  be 
gone  through  in  more  or  lesi  perfunci>ry  fash- 
ion before  the  real  business  of  the  day  logins? 
The  special  sermon  we  have  to  preach,  the  lec- 
ture or  poem  we  have  to  read,  the  address  we 
have  to  deliver  before  a  distinguished  auditory, 
the  prominent  role  we  have  to  play  in  an  ecclesi- 
astical function,  the  supervision  we  have  to  give 
to  the  building  of  church  or  rectory  or  school  or 
convent  or  hall,  the  financial  scheme  we  have  to 
promote  for  the  good  of  religion,  the  social  affair 
we  have  to  organize  in  the  interests  of  charity, 
the  outing  we  have  genuinely  earned  and  really 
need,— of  how  little  moment  is  any  of  these  mat- 
ters when  compared  with  the  tremendous  import 
of  our  daily  Mass;  but  how  many  of  us  can  truth- 
fully say  that  someUmes,  if  not  often,  some  such 
relatively  trivial  affair  has  not  loomed  up  in  our 
consciousness  with  fictitious  magnitude,  has  not 
practicaUy   overshadowed    and    superseded    our 
morning  renewal  of  the  Sacrif*"^  of  Calvary? 


16 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQUIBfl 


I 


It  if  eany  of  coune  to  characterise  .••..k  -*#i 
tioni  as  the  foreflolnii  in  term?«#  !i  "f **  "* 
aualifv  them  -?  «  ?  ^f  ®'  depreciaUon, 
Dietv  "h^Lh  K  >**1**'  VWtuality.  virion 
fh!  n,  *'/'*:*»«»^  enlhusiatm  too  elevated 
the  pract     I  needi  of  the  every-dav  Drie.t    l 

ti^tirand'i   T''""''    '^^^'^    -knoUdi:^' 

ffrolL***'!!  ""?  ""ra-pracUcal  cleric  on  his  ov 
S^^  t^'"T''!r'>"«  «  P^"°d  »houJd  be  devoted 

i'»ajci»  marKed  in  missal  and  hrpvio^,   •« 


MINOB  DBVOTIONa 


17 


etc..  indicales  with  •uRIcient  cIcnrncM   Ihal   the 

liter  luJl""'":-  ""^  "•«  "■««  «"'«ta.  are 
rather  obhgaiory  ihan  optional.  coMtitutinu  what 
may  be  .tyled  ,ho  official  thanl^.givi„g  wh"      c.,^ 

cXU;.  -"'""="  *'""»"  •»-  -"- '" 

a  au«l"er'!?f"'"'r'''  l''""'»8'*"'«i'  reatricted  to 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  had  one  belter  recite  the.e 

lairL^t';:'^  °V""'"  •"""  '"^  «""'"'"- 
nmaie.  heart  to  heart  communion  with  the  Divine 

Gueat  preaenl  within  one",  inmoat  .anctuary  ?  Glv™ 

any  degree  of  ,c„.ible  devoHon.  or  even  tee  .pIrM 

penence.  is  not  always  at  command;  and  Hcnu- 
nri^!.?         f  "°'    mvariabiy    preoccupy    the 

:  noly  Socriflce;  and  accordingly  the  ontion.l 
prayera  are  often  advisable.    OneVbest  pTan  "n 

t^'  "  """T  '"  ""''''  "  «  P^ctice  to  red?; 
«.o,e  prayers  habilually,  and  to  supplement ?hem 
wuh^our  own  as  often  as  oar  devot^n  p~  u" 

One  consideraUon  that  may  well  determine  a 


If 


18 


OLEBICAL  COLLOQUIES 


priest  to  adopt  this  practice  is  the  fact  that  these 
prayers  and  hymns  and  aspirations  "pro  oppor- 
tunitate  dicendae"  are  richly  indulgence^    A  con- 
siderable number  of  priests  are  apparenUy  far 
more  concerned  with  getting  theu-  people  to  gain 
indulgences  than  with  the  personal  task  of  gain- 
ing some  for  themselves.    Neglecting  to  store  their 
own  treasuries  with  such  heavenly  currency  is  a 
lamentable  mistake,  the  tragic  import  of  which 
will  be  fully  disclosed  only  when,  in  Purgatory, 
the  opportunity  of  remedying  it  will  have  passed 
forever.     Only  a  very  tiioughUess  or  an  unduly 
presumptuous  cleric  can  flatter  himself  Uiat  he 
does  not  need  as  many  indulgences,  plenary  and 
partial,  as  he  can  possibly  gain,  and  a  glance  at 
the  favors  attached  to  the  recitation  of  Uie  "Gra- 
tias  tibi  ago,"  tiie  "Transfige.  dulcissin^^  e  Domine 
Jesu,    the  "Adoro  te  devote,"  tiie  "Anima  Christi," 
the    Suscipe,  Domine,"  the  prayers  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin  and  St.  Joseph,  and  especially  the  "En  eco" 
and  Uie  "Obsecro  te"  wiU  suffice  to  convince  the 
ordinary  priest  that  nothing  but  inexcusable  care- 
lessness prevents  him  from  garnering,  as  often  as 
he  celebrates  Mass,  a  veritable  harvest  of  wealth 
incomparably  better  worth  while  than  that  con- 
tained in  his  office  safe,  or  represented  by  his 
account  wiUi  the  local  bank. 

Of  the  practice  of  those  priests  whose  thanks- 
giving after  Mass  consists  of  the  recitation  of  a 
part  of  their  Office,-Uttie  Hours  or  Matins  and 
1-auds,  but  titUe  need  be  said,  and  that  HtUe  can 
scarcely  be  other  than  censorious.  There  are  no 
doubt  occasions  in  life  when  that  economy  of  time 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


19 


and  effort  which  is  called  "killing  two  birds  with 
one  stone"  is  commendable;  but  the  period  imme- 
diately following  the  celebration  of  Mass  is  em- 
phatically not  one  of  them.    To  begrudge  the  Di- 
vine Guest  who  has  given  us  His  all  a  few  min- 
utes of  hospitable  entertainment,  consecrated  to 
Him  alone,  is  essentially  nothing  more  or  less  than 
base,  mean  ingratitude.    'Tis  better  of  course  even 
to  say  one's  Office  than  to  leave  the  church  alto- 
gether within  a  minute  or  two  of  taking  off  the 
vestments,  but  this  is  so  merely  because  the  lat- 
ter procedure  is    the    greater    irreverence.     Yet 
even  this  practice,  hurriedly  leaving   the  sanc- 
tuary just  as  soon  as  the  Mass  is  completed,  is 
not  altogether  a  phenomenal  one  in  priestly  life 
today,  any  more  than  it  was  in  the  time  of  the 
Father  Avila  who  administered  a  fittingly  stem 
rebuke  to  a    cleric  guilty  of   this   patent   irrev- 
erence.   The  priest  having  left  the  church  imme- 
diately after  he  had  finished  his  Mass,  Father 
Avila  sent  two  ecclesiastics  with  lighted  torches 
to  accompany  him.     When  asked  by  the  priest 
why  they  followed  him,  they  replied:     "We  ac- 
company the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth  Whom 
you  carry  in  your  breast."    The  present-day  imi- 
tator of   that  graceless  cleric   probably  has  no 
Father  Avila  to  teach  him  a  much  needed  lesson, 
but  it  is  tolerably  safe  to  say  that  many  of  his 
flock,  witnessing  the  utter  lack  of  reverence  mani- 
fest in  his  conduct,  characterize  him  in  their  own 
minds  in  terms  the  reverse  of  flattering. 

Another  practice  of  piety  to  which  the  priest 
should  endeavor  to  devote  at  least  a  quarter  or 


20 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


half  an  hour  daily  is  spiritual  reading.    At  the 
outset  it  may  be  worth  while  to  differentiate  the 
devotional  exercise  called  spiritual  reading  from 
what    may    easily    be    confounded     therewith, 
the    reading    of    spiritual    books.    If    the    mere 
perusal,  for    any    purpose,   of    volumes    treat- 
ing of  spiritual    matters    constituted    the    prac- 
tice  m    question,    it   would   scarcely    be    neces- 
sary to  comment  on  it  at  any  length;  for  there 
are     no     priests     who     do     not     daily     spend 
over  some  such  volumes,  if  only  the  missal  and 
the  breviary,  more  time  than  has  just  been  sug- 
gested for  this  specific  exercise.    The  reading  o^ 
Holy  Scripture,  or  of  apologetic,  catechetical,  o. 
ascetical    works   for   the   purpose    of   preparing 
a  sermon,  a  conference   paper,  or   a   magazine 
article;  reading  theological  treatises  with  the  view 
of  increasing  or    refreshing    our    knowledge    of 
sacerdotal   science;   reading  sermon   books,   the 
biographies  of  Saints,  or  expositions  of  the  con- 
templative life  to  the  end  that  we  may  write  ade- 
quate reviews  thereof,-all  this  is  doubtiess  an 
excellent  employment  of  our  time,  but  it  does  not 
constitute  the  spiritual  reading  which  is  a  distinct 
exercise  of  devotion  in  all  religious  orders,  and 
amo  ^g  all  exemplary  clerics,  religious  or  secular. 
Ihe  real  nature  of  the  exercise,  and  its  purpose 
as  well,  are  admirably  indicated  in  St.  Bernard's 
words:     "He  who  sets  himself  to  read  does  not 

^n  ^^""t.!^^^  *°  *^^™'  ««  *o  *«ste  the  things  of 
Ood.  That  we  do  learn  much  from  spiritual 
reading  is  of  course  indubitable,  but  this  increase 
of  knowledge  is  incidental;  'tis  not  the  predeter- 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


21 


mined  end  and  purpose  for  which  the  reading 
is  undertaken.  To  insist  at  great  length  on  the 
excellence  of  this  exercise  would  be  in  all  proba- 
bility a  superfluous  task  since  all  graduates  of 
ecclesiastical  seminaries  have  heard  that  excel- 
lence exhaustively  dwelt  upon  in  their  student 
days.  A  mere  reminder  will  convince  them  that 
spiritual  reading  ranks  second  only  to  prayer  as 
a  means  of  advancing  in  virtue  and  maintaining 
the  congruous  standard  of  sacerdotal  piety.  "Spir- 
itual reading,"  says  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "is  to 
prayer  what  oil  is  to  a  lamp.  Alas!  how  many 
lamps  are  extinguished,  morning  after  morning, 
for  want  of  oil !"  What  St.  Isadore  says  of  Chris- 
tians generally  is  particularly  applicable  to  the 
clergy:  "Whoever  wishes  to  walk  with  God  must 
often  pray  and  read.  When  we  pray,  we  speak 
to  God;  but  when  we  read,  God  speaks  to  us.  All 
our  progress  in  virtue  depends  on  meditation  and 
spiritual  reading." 

On  one  notable  benefit  to  be  d<ri ved  from  this 
exercise  the  Saints  and  spiritual  writers  in  gen- 
eral do  not  dilate  with  their  usual  copiousness, 
possibly  because  the  benefit  in  question  is  so  ob- 
vious. It  is  that  spiritual  reading  stores  the  mem- 
ory with  such  a  fund  of  good  thoughts,  pious  re- 
flections, and  devout  pictures  as  proves  in  time 
of  temptation  a  valuable  offset  to  the  thoughts, 
reflections,  and  pictures  of  an  entirely  contrary 
nature  deposited  in  our  minds  by  our  multifari- 
ous reading  of  profane  books  and  papers.  In  oth- 
er words,  and  in  the  parlance  of  the  day,  regu- 
lar spiritual  reading,  faithfully  attended  to,  may 


i 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQUIES 


weU  prove  the  effective  destroyer  of  many  a  men- 

lnL^"ir°^  *^''""'°«  «^«"*  ^"h  deadly  pur- 
pose m  the  war  zone  of  our  interior  life 

ercit   L  h'  *"*»Jf  ^t '"^tter  of  this  devotional  ex- 

ZZ*lu      ?u'  *°  ^^  ^^«^'  ^^^  priests  perhaps 
need  either  elaborate  instruction  or  even  itemized 

JhTri"""!;  .?°'y  ^^"P*"^^'  Lives  of  Ourrrd 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  Saints;  the  "Im^[a 

Ufe-le^^n'-t  *^,V"'r°d-tion  to  a  DeTout 
u  J^  Spiritual  Combat,"  Rodriguez's  "Chris- 
han  Perfection  »  the  "Exercises"  of  St.  IgnatSs. 
ete.;  and  books  dealing  specifically  wUh  the 
priestly  life  and  its  duties,-are  naturally  ul 
staple  volunjes  from  which  the  cleric  makes  a 
choice  when  he  sets  about  the  performance  of 

Ind  rclas'si'^  ""'"^  "'  *^  '°^^«°^°«  --  -'«-'e' 
and  a  class  ?  never  grows  old,  although  not  all 

priests  regulate  their  choice  of  books  in  accord 
ance  with  that  truth.  Of  newer  books  appropriate 
for  spiritual  reading-and  Catholic  pubSshe^  are 
continually  issuing  a  whole  host  of  them-it  ^s 
pertanent  to  remark  that  for  practical  purposes 
the  best  are  those  that  are  best  written,  those  S 
are  readable,  not  only  in  the  etymolog^^aT  seme 

n  the  hterary  sense  that  their  perusal  is  exceo^ 

words,  a  simple,  unlabored,  clear  and  flowing  lit- 
eraiy  style  is  an  excellent  thing  in  any  bo™  and 
no  least  m  one  designed  for  the  purpo^se  of  spirf^^ 
ual  reading  by  priests.  *-    f       ui  spirit 

fh«f  *  ^^'S'  *^^  °^'^'^*^^  "^^^  ^o'"^  specious  force 
that  aesthetic  pleasure  or  intellectual  gratiflca^^n 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


23 


should  not  be  sought  for  in  our  exercises  of  de- 
votion; and,  were  we  all  as  fervent  and  as  habit- 
ually recollected  or  introspective  as  we  should  be, 
the  presence  or  absence  of  stylistic  excellence  in 
the  work  we  are  perusing  would  no  doubt  be  a 
negligible  consideration.    In  actual  practice,  how- 
ever, that  presence  or  absence  very  often  means 
our  performance,  or  our  neglect,  of  this  particu- 
lar devotional  exercise.    Those  of  us  who  have 
most  need  of  spiritual  reading  are  precisely  those 
who  are  most  likely  to  be  so  bored  by  a  dull,  dry, 
colorless,  heavy  presentation  of  the  matter  that 
we  abridge  our  exercise  or  omit  it  entirely.  More- 
over, a  book  that  is  really  worth  reading  once 
is  worth  from  year    to    year    another    and    yet 
another  perusal;  and  a  volume,  to  stand  that  test, 
must  assuredly  be  free  from  stiffness,  aridity,  and 
what  a  clerical  friend  of  ours  characterizes  as 
"preternatural  solemnity,  a  too  common  mark  of 
books  for  clerics,  and  always  repellent." 

The  fidelity  with  which  a  priest  accomplishes 
this  minor  devotion  of  his  day  depends  very  ma- 
terially on  his  having  a  regular  order  for  the  dif- 
ferent activities  of  that  day,  a  well-thought-out 
and  seriously  adopted  rule  of  life.  Clerics  in  gen- 
eral, and  young  priests  in  particuJar,  can  hardly 
attach  undue  importance  to  method  and  system 
in  the  performance  of  their  multifarious  official 
and  personal  duties.  Theoretically,  it  is  of  course 
possible  to  be  too  methodical,  to  observe  one's 
established  rule  with  a  rigid  formality  dispropor- 
tioned  to  its  importance;  but  a  cursory  examina- 
tion of  the  average  cleric's  procedure  from  day 


-  *l 


t 


if 


24 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


to  day  will  prove  to  any  judicious  observer  that 
for  every  formalist  among  priests  there  are  a 
dozen  or  a  score  of  others  who  are  the  reverse 
of  formal,  are  immethodical,  unsystematic,  irregu- 
lar in  their  work  and  prayer  and  the  employment 
of  their  leisure.  Want  of  business-like  system  in 
the  ordering  of  one's  day  will  often  enough  seri- 
ously interfere  with  the  due  accomplishment  of 
even  one's  graver  obligations,  and  there  is  little 
exaggeration  in  saying  that,  oftener  than  not,  it 
will  prove  fatal  to  one's  minor  devotions.  Happy 
the  cleric  who  has  not  learned  this  truUi  from  his 
own  sad  experience. 

A  third  i^ractice  of  piety  which  imperatively 
calls  for  priestly  adoption  is  the  daily  visit  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.    Obviously,  it  should  be  what 
Its  name  implies,  a  genuine  visit,  an  official  call 
•n  Jesus  Christ  really  present  in  the  tabernacle, 
a  personal  communing  with  Him  about  matters 
that  intimately  concern  His  glory  and  our  own 
salvation.     Hence,  to  say  one's  breviary  in  the 
church,  or  to  acquit  one's  self  therein  of  one's 
meditation  or  spiritual  reading,  while  no  doubt 
an  excellent  practice,  is  not  really,  in  the  received 
sense  of  the  phrase,  "visiting  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment."   Here,  once  more,  the  policy  of  attempt- 
ing to  "kill  two  birds  with  one  stone"  is  to  be 
deprecated.    The  raison  d'etre  of  this  daily  exer- 
cise of  devotion  surely  needs  no  explanation.  The 
Real  Presence  is  incontestable  evidence  of  Our 
Saviour's  immeasurable  love  for  us,  is  convincing 
proof  that  His  delight  is  to  be  with  the  children 
of  men.    That  priests   above  all   others   should 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


25 


show  Him  some  love  in  return,  should  make  it 
manifest  that  it  is,  if  not  always  a  sensible  de- 
light, at  least  not  a  tedious  affliction,  to  be  with 
the  Eucharistic  God, — this  would  seem  to  be  de- 
manded by  the  very  nature  of  the  priestly  voca- 
tion as  the  only  attitude  that  a  consistent  cleric 
can  logically   assume. 

It  is  no  wardship  to  seek  the  presence  of  those 
we  love.  It  is  a  joy  rather  to  see,  converse  with, 
and  confide  in  them;  'tis  a  sensible  pleasure  even 
to  breathe  the  sympathetic  atmosphere  that  sur- 
rounds them.  If,  accordingly,  we  priests  fail  to 
make  our  daily  visit  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  taber- 
nacle, must  it  not  be  that  our  love,  so  often 
pledged  to  Him,  has  grown  cold  or  been  slain  by 
our  incompatible  affection  for  creatures  or  for 
self?  Yet,  even  so,  even  if  we  are  unmistakably 
more  tepid  than  fervent,  should  not  our  urgent 
need,  if  not  our  gratitude  and  love,  carry  us  fre- 
quently to  His  feet?  Who  among  us,  young  or 
old,  is  not  burdened  from  day  to  day  with  crosses 
and  cares,  trials  and  troubles  in  the  spiritual  or 
temporal  order  or  in  both?  Pastoral  anxieties, 
financial  difficulties,  unsuccessful  projects,  accu- 
mulating debts,  household  vexations,  family  wor- 
ries, exhausting  labor  in  the  confessional  or  the 
office,  physical  or  moral  indisposition,  insults  and 
affronts  and  injuries  from  open  enemies,  envy 
and  jealousy  and  calumny  and  all  uncharitable- 
ness  from  hypocritical  friends,  coldness  and  in- 
difference and  neglect  from  those  we  love  most 
fondly, — does  not  some  such  burden  often  leave 
us  ailing  in  body,  heavy  at  heart,  depressed  in 


26 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUTRft 


<icav^  laaen,  and  I  will  refresh  vn-i »»     a— 
lashed  u.  unui  ftp  »    *  »">™-*ind.  of  p,.rion 

calm  the  temvesi  ^IVvJa^       ^"  disciples  to 
wic  lempest  and  bid  the  waves  be  still? 

est  workaday  priest     Tn  «»oi;*L  °""' 

abundantly  shoS^  h  i«  »  ^f^^*.  "'  experience 
»,.•«»,  *  x^  ■""^*»  "  w  a  stand{>rd  not  at  all  #«« 
h.^  for  the  ordinary  lay  Catholic    Many  W 

wrought  the  redempUon  of  mankind.'^  S^  T' 
heal  Man-God.  Jesu.  Chri,t  who  heate^ft* '.1T 
gave  sight  to  the  blind  and  speech  to  th^^  k' 
who  wept  with  the  .i,t»,  „»  i  '™  '*""''>• 

»on  to  tL  h  *rt*X"™-dowTl?ain  t"*!  "" 
ly  pardoned  the  repentant  Mr«dalet°'nr°r" 
won.a„  taken   in  a'dulte^y  "/af/ed "   ""l™  *« 


MINOR  DEVOTIONS 


S7 


sentence:  "Go  in  peace."  To  seek  in  our  daily 
need  this  most  loving  of  all  possible  friends  is 
simply  an  exercise  of  Catholic  common  sense,  is 
a  practice  to  which  all  pastors  should  excite  their 
flecks  by  earnest  word  and  especially  by  habitual 
example. 

Other  minor  devotions,  more  or  less  regular 
in  the  daily  life  of  exemplary  clerics,  are  the  par- 
ticular examen,  the  beads,  and  the  Way  of  the 
Cross.  Only  a  word  or  two  can  be  given  to  each 
in  the  present  paper.  The  examination  of  con- 
science, whether  made  during  the  day  or  as  a 
part  of  night  prayer,  is  a  practice  which  cannot 
be  omitted  without  serious  spiritual  loss.  The 
beads,  the  universal  Catholic  devotion,  are  espe- 
cially congruous  in  the  hands  of  a  priest;  and  the 
Stations  furnish  an  excellent  opportunity,  not  only 
of  gaining  unnumbered  indulgences,  but  of  be- 
wailing the  many  faults  and  imperfections  that 
clothe  the  best  of  us  as  a  garment.  There  is  sure- 
ly strong  ground  for  expecting  the  renewal  of 
fervor  on  the  part  of  the  most  tepid  priest  who 
daily  follows  in  spirit  his  thorn-crowned  Lord 
along  the  road  to  Golgotha,  who  cries  to  that  Man 
of  Sorrows: 


Behold  me  prostrate  at  Thy  feet  today, 
I  who,  alas!  "another  Christ"  should  be: 

Ah,  Lord,  vouchsafe  Thy  grace  whilst  I  essay 
Thine  only  function  that  befltteth  me,— 

To  bear  Thy  Cross  along  this  doleful  way, 
And  weep  my  sins  that  built  Thy  Calvary. 


II 


THE  PRIEST  A  GE>fTLEMAN 


Tl«t  .'.r  wore  -rth  .bout  hi.,  J^^'T^ttiL^'' 

ThfJL"!"*'''  P'^f"*'  »""»K  tr.nqull  .pirlt    ' 
The  flnt  true  genUeman  that  ever  breiffi! 

—Thomat  Decker  (1641). 

Tfulokeray  *"•"  ^"  ***•  "***  «'*««'"J  oStward  manner-- 

of  your  teal,  that  it  may  Mt  ^  t^  11***°?^  '*?<"'  **»•  **»• 
P*tfent,  and'  m  of  "omp^\oS^  *?**[?;  T  '^'^'  •**»*"»»• 
conatituted  that  by  riaw  iThL-om..  k.  l*"*    u""*"  "«"'   *•  •<> 


A  NY  one  who  has  ever  pursued,  either  as  a 

«^r  ^TV"-  "  *•  "^'^y*  *^*^  «*"^y  °f  word  J! 
!?^m  ^  •  derivation,  structure,  history,  and 
significance-must  have  noticed  how  witi,  the 
lapse  of  tmie  many  terms  once  honorableTave  be! 
come  debased,  and  many  others  once  mean  or 
degraded   have    attained   decorum    and    dT^ity 

or  two.  the  original  meanings  of  such  words  are 
forgotten,  have  grown  obsolete;   but  ilthe  Tn 
enm  they  are  expressive  of  varying  degrees  o^ 

maTco^:t/°fH*'f  ^^^"^^^^  signilcatSn   and 
may  connote  either  honor  or  infamv.     A  eood  in 

stance  of  a  word  still  undergoing 'the  pro^l'^f" 

28 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


deterioration  is  the  last  term  in  the  title  of  this 
article.  "Perhaps  no  honorable  word  in  the  lan- 
guage." writes  an  American  essayist,  "has  been 
more  debased  than  gentleman."  His  statement 
is  of  course  exaggerated.  "Gentleman"  is  not  yet 
a  term  of  reproach,  as  is  the  once  unobjectionable 
"villain,"  and  the  essayist  himself  would  prob- 
ably resent  the  imputation  of  being  "no  gentle- 
man"; but  in  present-day  usage  the  term  is  un- 
doubtedly very  loosely  and  at  times  rather  gro- 
tesquely employed. 

The  "gentlemen  electors"  whom  the  political 
candidate   addresses   so    unctuously    at   a    ward 
meeting  in  the  city's  slums  scarcely  conform  to 
the    definition    of    the    sixteenth-century    chron- 
icler, Holinshed:     "Gentlemen    be    those    whom 
their  race  and  bloud,  or  at  least  their  vertues  do 
make  noble  and  knowne."    The  vakt,  or  body- 
servant,  who  is  dowered  with  the  title  of  "gen- 
tleman's gentleman"  probably  claims  no  special 
nobihty  of  birth,    exceptionally    acute    sense    of 
honor,  or  even  a  plethoric  purse.    No  more,  pre- 
sumably,   did    the    American    hack-driver    who 
something  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  asked 
the  visiting  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar:    "Are  you  the 
man  that's  going  to  ride  with  me,  for  I'm  the 
gentleman  that's  going  to  drive?"    If  a  reductio 
ad  absurdum  be  required,  it  may  well  be  found 
m  the  reply  of  the  colored  chicken-thief  to  the 
magistrate's  question :    "Are  you  the  defendant  in 
this  case?  -"N-no,  sah,  I'se  de  gen'leman  what 
stole  de  chickens."    The  cheapening  of  the  word 
has  been  accelerated  rather  than  retarded  dur- 


i 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


ing  the  last  half-century,  and  even  in  1850  the 
English  laureate  sang  of  his  dead  friend : 

And  thus  he  bore  without  sbuM 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentlemen, 
Debaaed  by  every  ebarlatan, 

And  aoUed  with  ell  ignoble  uae. 

Notwithstanding  such  ignoble   use,  however, 
there  are  several  senses  in  which  the  word  "gen- 
tleman** remains  a  title  of  honor  and  respect.    In 
a  democratic  country  such  as  ours  the  historic 
meaning  of  the  word  is  of  course  archaic  if  not 
obsolete;  but.  even  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  following  definitions  still  hold  good:     "In  a 
loose  sense,  any  man  whose  breeding,  education, 
occupation,  or  income  raises  him  above  menial 
service  or  an  ordinary  trade,**  and  "A  man  of 
good  breeding,  courtesy,  and  kindness;  hence,  a 
man  distinguished  for  fine  sense  of  ^onor,  strict 
regard  for  his  cbligations,  and  consuieration  for 
the  rights  and  feelings  of  others.'*    As  employed 
by  persons  of  genuine  Christian  culture,  the  word 
does  not  necessarily  connote  either  "gentle  birth,** 
or  wealth,  or  the  abundant  leisure  which  wealth 
permits.    As  to  this  last  point,  the  American  idea 
was  rather  graphically  expressed  a  few  years  ago 
by  a  New  York  barrister  who,  in  reply  to  a  trans- 
atlantic visitor*s  comment,  "You  don't    seem    to 
have  any  gentry  in  this  country,**  inquired,  "Pray, 
just  what  do  you  mean  by  gentry?**— "Oh,  well; 
gentry,  don*t  you  know,  are  persons  who  don*t  do 
anything  themselves,  and  whose  fathers  before 
them  never  did  anything,  either."— "In  that  case,** 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


81 


laid  the  barrister,  "we  have  lots  of  gentry  in  this 
country;  but  we  don't  call  them  by  that  name: 
we  call  them  tramps." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  one's 
being,  or  not  being,  a  gentleman  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word  is  a  matter  dependent,  like  the  sal- 
vation of  one's  soul,  entirely  upon  oneself.  Were 
it  otherwise,  this  article's  title  would  be  a  fallacy 
and  iU  purpose  a  futility.  No  more  than  other 
persons  have  priests  any  control  over  the  acci- 
dent of  their  birth  in  this  or  that  social  grade, 
in  the  leisure  or  the  working  class,  in  the  lap  of 
luxury  or  in  approximate  indigence.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  us  in  this  country  can  probably 
say,  with  a  charming  Southern  authoress,  that  we 
"were  bom  of  poor  but  Irish  parents";  and  un- 
less we  are  snobs  or  cads  instead  of  genUemen, 
we  feel  no  call  to  apologize  for  the  fact.  It  is 
worth  while  remarking  thai  Ih  Newman's  cele- 
brated (and  often  misunderstood)  portrait  of  "the 
ethical  character  which  the  cultivated  intellect 
will  form,  apart  from  religious  principle,"  he 
pretermits  any  reference  to  birth,  family,  ances- 
tors, heredity,  or  other  circumstances  over  which 
his  "gentleman"  has,  and  can  have,  no  con- 
trolhng  inHuence.  As  a  classic  is  always  new,  it 
will  perhaps  be  permissible  to  reproduce  once 
more  the  oft-quoted  passage  from  his  Idea  of  a 
University: 

«.„n!°*^^  "*  "  ^^^1  ^* ,"  «*"»ost  a  definition  of  p 
genUeman  to  say  that  he  is  one  who  never  inflie. 
pam.  .  He  is  mainly  occupied  in  merely  re- 

moving the  obstacles  which  hinder  the  free  and 


32 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


manner  carefully  avoids  whatever  m^ycSise  a 
ifn^*^  J°  f  '^  %  "»i°ds  of  those  wHhVhom  he 

Jeelfni'7lli.'/f  ^?«  **^  °P/°i°°'  oT  colHsfon  of 
:!?♦  ^*  r  u^.^®*'^^^^*'  or  suspicion,  or  cloom  or  re 

on^^f^K-'  ^'  «^^^i  ^«««^™  being  to  make  eve^ 
«n  hll  *"'"  ^^'^  ^°?  «*  *^on^e.  He**has  his  eves  o^ 
?.,i     «  company;  he  is  tender  towards  the  bLh" 

i«  ««ool-       absurd;  he  can  recollect  to  whom  he 

SsK  or tn^'  «"k^'1^  ^S^^'*^*  unseasorbk  al! 
lusions,  or  topics  which  may  irritate-  hp  i^  «pM^« 

SI™?  dSs^lSSf  ^«''"  w^ef  e"m>e"d 
ears  for  sLndpr  ^,  5  '''^  "•""'*  «■•='<"■'•  he  has  no 

adl^°n£y:'i'eVer„;!sfeprsra^Vet'„rsSlt 
sayings  for  arguments,  or  Linuates  IvH  S 

5l''"T  "?'  '"y  °>"-    Prom  a  long-sighted  Sru 
dence,  he  observes  the  maxim  of  the  ardent  saae 

enlL.^asiJh'i"  '"-"uct  ourselves  towards  o?.r 

feeSr  ai^  L°  i„l!{enrtM  XtS 
patient,  forbearing,  and  resignecfon^hilosopWeal 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


33 


principles;  he  submits  to  pain  because  it  is  inevita- 
ble, to  bereavement  because  it  is  irreparable,  and 
to  death  berri..^^'  il  is  his  destiny. 

An  attra  tjvo  porfn.it,  the  foregoing;  and  it  is 
scarcely  to  b.^  wondered  at  that  many  a  reader 
of  Characteristics  of  Newman  or  Extracts  from 
Newman  should  mistake  it  for  a  picture  of  what 
the  great  Cardinal  never  intended  it  to  be,  and 
expressly  states  it  is  not— the  Christian  gentle- 
man.   The  lineaments  he  has  so  accurately  drawn 
are  seen,  he  tells  us,  "within  the    pale    of    the 
Church  and  without  it,  in  holy  men  and  in  profli- 
gates;  they  form  the  beau-ideal  of  the  world; 
they  partly  assist  and  partly  distort  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Catholic."  As  for  the  essential  char- 
acteristics of  Christian,  and  especially  sacerdotal, 
gentlemanliness,  we  find  them  admirably  set  forth 
in  an  etching  drawn  by  a  greater  than  Newman. 
The  gentlemanliness  of  the  true  priest  is,  if  not 
identical  with  charity,  at  least  so  near  akin  there- 
to that  "it  is  patient,  is  kind,  envieth  not,  dealeth 
not  perversely,  is  not  puffed  up,  is  not  ambitious, 
seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  provoked  to  anger, 
thinketh  no  evil,  rejoice th  not  in  iniquity  but  re- 
joiceth  with  the  truth,  beareth  all  things,  hopeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things."' 

There  is  one  fallacy  about  this  matter  of  being 
a  gentleman  which,  although  not  perhaps  so 
prevalent  among  priests  as  among  their  lay  breth- 
ren, is  yet  sufficiently  common  to  merit  exposure. 
It  is  undue  insistence  on  the  scriptural  truth  that 
"aH  the  beauty  of  the  king's  daughter  is  from 

11  Cor.  lS:4-7. 


34 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


within,"  undue    straining  of    Tennyson's    "kind 
hearts  are  more  than  coronets,"  and  Burns's  'The 
rank  is  but  the  guinea  stamp,  the  man's  the  gowd 
for  a'  that."     Obviously  what  one  is  matters  a 
great  deal  more  than  what  one  appears  to  be, 
and  a  "good  heart"  is  a  more  precious  possession 
than  the  most  polished  manners;  b'lt  to  conclude 
that  appearances  therefore   count   for  little   or 
nothing,    and    that   politeness    and    conventional 
good  form  are  negUgible  appurtenances    of    the 
priestly  character  is  a  capital  mistake.     Even  if 
we  question  Paley's  dictum,  that  "manners  are 
minor  morals,"  we  can  hardly  doubt  Bartol's,  that 
"good    manners    and  good    morals    are    sworn 
friends  and  fast  alhes."  Until  human  nature  be- 
comes radically  transformed,   the  exterior  of  a 
man,  priest  or  layman,  will  count  for  a  great  deal, 
not  only  in  the  estimate  formed  of  him  by  his  fel- 
lows, but  in  the  extent  and  force  of  the  influence 
which  he  exerts  on  the  world  around  him.  "No 
doubt,"  says  Mathews,  "there  are  a  few  men  who 
can  look  beyond  the  husk  or  shell  of  a  fellow- 
being— his  angularities,   awkwardness,  or  eccen- 
tricity—to the  hidden  qualities  within;  who  can 
discern  the  diamond  however  encrusted;  but  the 
majority  are  neither  so  sharp-eyed  nor  so  tolerant, 
and  judge  a  person  by  his  appearance  and  his  de- 
meanor more  than  by  his  substantial  qualities." 
It  is  nothing  to  the  purpose  to  object  that  con- 
ventional politeness  may  coexist  with  a  corrupt 
heart,   that  Newman's    philosophical    gentleman 
may   be   a    profligate,  that  "one  may  smile  and 
smile  and  be  a  villain;"  the  fact  remains  that  good 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


35 


manners  are  essential  to  him  who  would  exert 
the  most  beneficent  possible  influence  on  the  circle 
in  which  he  habitually  moves.  Moreover,  while 
genui.  i  politeness,  it  is  true,  comes  from  within, 
from  the  heart,  still,  as  John  Hall  shrewdly  re- 
marks, "if  the  forms  of  politeness  are  dispensed 
with,  the  spirit  and  the  thing  itself  soon  die 
away."  Another  consideration  worth  thinking 
about  is  thus  phrased  by  Lord  Chesterfield:  "A 
man's  own  good  breeding  is  the  best  security 
against  other  people's  ill  manners.  It  cames 
along  with  it  a  dignity  that  is  respected  by  the 
most  petulant.  Ill-breeding  invites  and  authorizes 
the  familiarity  of  the  most  timid.  No  man  ever 
said  a  pert  thing  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  No 
man  ever  said  a  civil  one  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole." 
The  reader's  memory  will  readily  supply  more 
than  a  fp-^  clerical  names  which  might  well  re- 
place in  .1  ■  .  xtract  that  of  the  courteous  Duke, 
and  it  is  f,  >  ..ule  that  he  can  also  recall  a  Father 
X  or  Father  Z  who  would  have  made  in  the  same 
connexion  a  fairly  good  substitute  for  Sir  Robert. 
Enough  of  generalizing:  let  us  enter  into  some 
details  as  to  the  priest's  oractical  exemplification 
of  the  fact  that  hi  is  in  very  deed  and  truth  a  gen- 
tleman. If  he  really  deserves  the  name,  his  right 
thereto  will  be  made  evident  by  his  dress;  by  his 
ordinary  deportment;  by  his  deference  to  social 
conventions  in  such  matters  as  table  etiquette;  by 
his  everyday  relations  with  those  of  his  household 
and  the  various  classes  of  his  parishioners;  by  his 
language  in  the  sacristy,  the  pulpit,  the  confes- 
sional, in  the  company  of  his  brother-clerics,  and 


c 
z 


36 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow-citizens,  Catholic 
and  non-Catholic;  and  especially  by  his  conduct, 
not  merely  in  matters  of  moment,  but  in  those 
minor  ones  which,  according  to  Wordsworth,  con- 
stitute the 

best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life,— 
His  little,  nameless,  onremembered  acts 
Of  kindness  and  of  love. 

To  dress  as  a  gentleman  is  to  be  inconspicuous 
in  the  matter  of  attire  among  other  gentlemen  of 
one's  age  and  profession.  "A  gentleman's  taste  in 
dress,"  says  Bulwer,  "is  upon  principle  the  avoid- 
ance of  all  things  extravagant.  ...  It  consists 
in  the  quiet  simplicity  of  exquisite  neatness." 
This  quality  of  simplicity,  it  is  needless  to  remark, 
is  especially  congruous  to  the  priestly  garb.  The 
cleric  whose  clothes,  in  material  and  style,  are 
much  the  same  as  those  of  his  clerical  brethren 
throughout  his  diocese  or  his  country  is  probably 
preserving  the  just  mean  between  foppishness  on 
the  one  hand  and  slovenliness  on  the  other.  As 
between  the  fop  and  the  sloven  there  is  not  per- 
haps much  choice.  If  the  occasional  young  priest 
who  apparently  aspires  to  be  "the  glass  of  fash- 
ion and  the  mould  of  form"  is  an  incongruous 
figure,  the  occasional  middle-aged  or  old  one  who 
rather  affects  threadbare,  untidy,  slouchy  gar- 
ments is  not  invariably  an  edifying  spectacle. 
Even  the  vow  of  poverty  which  religious  take  does 
not  militate  against  cleanliness  and  neatness  of 
apparel;  and  in  the  writer's  personal  experience, 
the  most  slovenly,  ill-dressed  priests  he  has  ever 
met  were  so  far  from  being  straitened  by  pov- 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


37 


erty's  vow  that  they  had  very  respectable  bank 
accounts.  To  have  done  with  this  part  of  our  sub- 
ject: an  essayist  who  probably  wrote  for  others 
than  clerics  has  expressed  upon  it  an  cpinion  with 
which  many  a  priest  will  agree :  "The  perfection 
of  dress  is  in  the  union  of  three  requisites— in  its 
being  comfortable,  serviceable,  and  tasteful." 

As  for  the  multiform  points  of  social  behavior, 
the  conventional  requirements  of  eveiyday  inter- 
course with  others,  the  proprieties  of  conduct 
which  prescriptive  usage  makes  obligatory  on  all 
who  aspire  to  pass  for  gentlemen— good  manners, 
in  a  word— it  is  well  to  remember  that,  as  the 
author  of  Spare  Hours  declares :  "Etiquette,  with 
all  its  littlenesses  and  niceties,  is  founded  upon 
a  central  idea  of  right  and  wrong."  While  there 
may  be  occasions  when  the  deliberate  neglect  of 
such  niceties  is  a  manifestation  of  more  genuine 
politeness  than  would  be  their  observance,  these 
fine  points  of  etiquette  do  not,  as  a  rule,  conflict 
with  any  higher  duty  or  quasi-obligation,  and  con- 
sequently are  not  to  be  disregarded.  If  Father 
Paiiick,  taking  dinner  with  one  of  his  parishioners 
out  in  the  country,  conforms  to  the  local  custom 
of  drinking  his  coflFee  from  his  saucer  and  eating 
his  peas  with  his  knife,  his  kindly  motive  deprives 
his  action  of  all  boorishness  or  "bad  form";  but 
he  certainly  should  not  acquire  the  habit  of  do- 
ing so.  Nor  need  he,  even  on  the  score  of  kindli- 
ness, imitate  the  manners  of  his  rural  entertainer 
so  closely  as  to  sit  down  to  the  table  in  his  shirt 
sleeves.  And  so  of  all  the  other  httle  acts  and 
courtesies  and  civilities  and  observances  which 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


constitute  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  social  life- 
they  may  not  be  infallible  indexes  of  the  truest 
politeness,  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  so  far 
from  being  incompatible  therewith  that  the  pre- 
sumption is  in  favor  of  those  who  observe  them. 
In  the  matter  of  his  words— in  conversation, 
sermons,  inslrucUon  to  penitents,  and  every  other 
form  of  discourse— a  prime  consideration  for  the 
pnest  to  bear  in  mind  is  that,  whatever  else  a 
genUeman  may  or  may  not  be,  he  must  at  any 
rate  show  himself  a  gentle  man.    If  there  is  any 
one  characteristic  of  "the  first  true  gentleman  that 
ever  breathed^'  which  should  distinguish  him  who 
has    so    many   claims    to    the    appellation    alter 
Chnstus,  it  is  assuredly  His  loving-kindness  that 
was  ever  mild,  sympathetic,  tender,  courteous,  and 
merciful.     There  is   abundant  material  for  fre- 
quent sacerdotal  meditation  in  this  counsel  of  St 
Francis  of  Sales:     "Whoever  has    the    direction 
of  souls  should  deal  \tith  them  as  God  and  the 
angels  do— with    admonitions,     suggestions,     en- 
treaties, and  'wiUi  all  patience  and  doctrine.*    He 
must  knock  at  Uie  door  of  the  heart  Uke  the 
Spouse  and  try  gently  to  open  it:  if  he  succeeds, 
he  must  mtroduce  salvation  with  gladness;  but 
if  a  refusal  comes,  he  must  bear  it  patiently.    It 
is  thus  that  our  Lord  acts.    Though  He  is  Master 
of  all.  He  bears  with  our  long  resistance  to  His 
hghts,  and  our  many  rebellions  against  His  in- 
spirations; and  even  if  He  be  forced  to  withdraw 
from  those  who  will  not  walk  in  His  Way,  He  does 
not  cease  to  renew  His  inspirations  and  invita- 
tions.** 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


39 


This  suggested  method  of  procedure  is  to  be 
recommended  not  merely  in  the  pulpit,  the  con- 
fessional, and  the  sick-room  where  the  priest  is 
professedly  acting  in  his  pastoral  capacity,  but  in 
the  whole  tenor  of  his  normal  life.    The  gentle- 
manly priest  must,  in  a  word,  possess  and  habitu- 
ally practice  a  goodly  store  of  what  the  same  St. 
Francis  of  Sales  calls  "the  little  virtuea— humility, 
patience,     meekness,     benignity,     bearing     one 
another's    burdens,    condescension,     softness    of 
heart,  cheerfulness,  cordiality,  compassion,  for- 
giving injuries,  simplicity,  and  candor."    The  pre- 
cepts of  true  gentlemanliness  oblige  semper  et  pro 
semper,  and  no  cleric  can  afford  to  give  even  a 
shadow  of  pretext  for  such  criticism  as  was  once 
passed  on  an  English  statesman:    "Canning  can 
never  be  a  gentleman  for  more  than  three  hours 
at  a  time."    To  be  courteous  abroad  and  curt  at 
home;  genial,  affable,  and  polite  to  strangers  and 
acquaintances,  but  gruff,  stem,  peevish,  testy,  or 
surly  to  house-keeper  and    servants,    assistants, 
altar-boys,  and  teachers,  is  to  proclaim  oneself  a 
churl  in  spirit,  and  a  fit  subject  for  the  admoni- 
tion of  Ecclesiasticus:     "Be  not  as  a  lion  in  thy 
house,  terrifying  them  of  thy  household,  and  op'- 
pressing  them  that  are  under  thee"  (4:35).      A 
moralist  who  resembled  a  good  many  of  us  in 
that  he  did  not  always  practice  what  he  preached, 
Dr.  Johnson,  said  on  a  certain  occasion:     "Sir,  a 
man  has  no  more  right  to  «ay  an  uncivil  thing 
than  to  act  one;  no  more  rig»-t  to  say  a  rude  thing 
to  another  than  to  knock  him  down." 

Apropos  of  altar-boys,  the  wise  cleric  considers 


S 

0 


7i 


n 
?; 

■!£ 
H 

,■< 

r 

* 


40 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


and  treats  each  of  them  an  a  potential  priest.    Fc 
renects  that  the  apparently  mighty  distance  whi^h 
separates  the  pastor  of  thirty  from  his  server  of 
thirteen  will  undergo  very  notable  shrinkage  in 
the  course  of  two  or  three  decades,  and  that  the 
Father  Charies  of  the  future,  his  old-Ume  pastor's 
full  equal  in  dignity,  will  probably  retain  very 
vivid  memories  of  how  that  pastor  treated  the  lit- 
tle Charlie  of  the  present.    One  altar-boy  of  the 
late  sixties  of  the  last  century  sUU  joys  in  recall- 
ing the  invariable  kindness  and  courtesy  of  his 
first  pastor,  a  gentlemanly  priest  of  the  old  school 
—Father  John  Quinn,  of  St  George,  New  Bruns- 
wick, long  a^o  gone  to  his  reward;  and  not  the 
least  grateful  of  my   memories    of   that   far-off 
period  is  of  Father  John's  detaining  his  altar- 
boys  in  the  sacristy  on  the  morning  of  the  "great 
day"  of  the  summer,  and  giving  us  fifty  cents 
apiece,  with  the  injunction  to  be  sure  to  go  to  the 
circus  and  eat  plenty  of  peanuts. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  such  a  priestly 
character  as  has  been  imperfectly  sketched  in  the 
foregoing  paragraphs  is  likely  to  have  the  defects 
of  his  qualities;  that  after  all  there  are  occasions 
when  gentleness  ceases  to  be  a  virtue;  and  that 
even  our  incomparable  Exemplar  sternly  rebuked 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  and  "cast  out  them  that 
bought  and  sold  in  the  temple."  Very  true;  and 
moreover  St.  Paul  says,  "Be  angry  and  sin  not;" 
but  the  trouble  is  that  we  are  all  as  apt  to  neglect 
the  second  part  of  the  great  Apostle's  advice  as 
we  are  to  obey  its  first  part,  and  to  attribute  to 
pure  priestly  zeal  the  harsh  words  and  occasion- 


THE  PRIEST  A  GENTLEMAN 


41 


ally  harsher  actions  which  are  really  ebullitions 
of  sinful  ill-temper.  The  most  gentlemanly  priest 
may,  nay,  at  times  must,  display  indignation  and 
even  inflict  pain;  but  the  times  are  perhaps  fewer 
than  some  of  us  like  to  believe,  and  in  any  case 
there  i"  co  valid  excuse  for  such  action's  being 
quasi-habitual.  Say  what  he  will,  the  sacerdotal 
bully  or  scold — in  church  or  home  or  elsewhere — 
can  find  no  justification  of  hl3  conduct  in  either 
the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  or  the  Lives  of  His  Saints. 


in 

FATHER  TOM  SAYS  THE  DRY  MASS 

A  BUBBICAL  DIALOGUE 

pirce~rt  !.*»'■''  f*t^o\of  the  biennial  Sctreai. 
Pl^e.-The  chapel  of  Hughe,  Hall,  at.  Bartholomew^,  College. 

PABTICIPANT8 
ViCA*  Gendul  Toban,  chairman. 

FATHiB  Thomas  Majui,  celebrant. 
Fathee  O'Beikn,  rubrical  censor. 
Father  Sohearis,  ") 

vrectore,  irremovable. 


•curates,  irrepressible. 


Fatueb  Oi    ,  miT, 

FatHKuP.   <  .ITT, 

Fathib  McTavish,' 
Pathkb  Launat, 
Fathib  Bobxbts,   j 

Other  pastors  and  assistants  of  the  archdiocese  of  Talis. 

Having  recited  the  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,  all 
take  their  seats. 

Fr.   Toban.     As  you  are    all    aware,    Reverend 
fathers,  we  have  assembled  for  our  usual  ru- 
brical session.    I  feel  that  there  is  no  need 
of  my  dwelling  at  any  length  on  the  impor- 
tance, not  to  say  the  necessity,  of  our  review- 
ing from  time  to  time  the  ceremonies  of  low 
Mass;  and  most  of  us  know  from  experience 
that  the  "moot,"  or  "rehearsal,"  or  dry  Mass 
furnishes  us  with  an  excellent  means  of  de- 
tecting the  errors  into  which  we  are  apt  to  fall 
m  the  celebration  of  the  adorable  Sacrifice     I 
shall  ask  our  diocesan  Master  of  Ceremonies 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


48 


to  suggest  which  one  of  you  be  requested  to 
act  as  celebrant  for  this  afternoon. 

Fr.  Conners.  I  have  to  suggest,  Mr.  Chairman, 
that  both  the  celebrant  and  the  rubrical  cen- 
sor, or  critic,  for  the  afternoon  be  elected  by 
the  vote  of  the  assembly.  Father  O'Brien  has 
been  speaking  to  me  about  the  matter,  and  I 
like  his  idea  so  well  that  I  hope  to  see  it 
adopted.  What  that  idea  is  he  himself  can 
best  tell  you. 

Fr,  O'Brien.  My  suggestion,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  that 
we  depart  on  this  occasion  from  our  old-time 
custom  of  appointing  as  celebrant  one  of  the 
recently  ordained  priests,  and  elect  instead 
one  of  the  senior  clergy.  As  I  personally  know, 
a  young  priest  in  apt  to  be  a  little  nervous 
in  celebrating  before  so  large  a  number  " 
critics  and  is  liable  to  make  a  good  many  more 
mistakes  than  is  habitual  with  him.  Our 
seniors  are  free  from  such  handicap.  Let  us, 
for  a  change,  have  the  dry  Mass  said  by  a 
competent  rubricist  whose  celebrating  will 
emphasize  rather  what  we  should  do  than 
what  we  should  avoid.  We  all  know  how 
acute,  if  occasionally  severe,  a  rubrical  critic 
one  of  those  seniors  has  often  shown  him- 
self; so,  without  further  ado,  I  nominate  as 
celebrant  Father  Tom  Marr. 

Fr.  Roberts.  I  have  much  pleasure,  Mr.  Chairman, 
in  seconding  the  motion. 

Fr.  Toban.  Tis  moved  and  seconded  that  Father 
Marr  be  the  celebrant  of  the  dry  Mass.  Are 
you  r^'ady  for  the  question? 

Fr.  Marr.  Not  all  of  us,  Mr.  Chairman.   I  beg  to 


i: 


i-  2 

It 

(,: 

•< 
r     ' 


44 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


decUnc  the  nomination  which  my  brilliant 
young  friend  ha.  proposed.  While  notTrhope 

ina^h^  17°^^,  "I  ^^"'"""y'  '  object  to  VC 
ing  the  rdle  of  the  "horrible  example/'    Be 
my  knowledge  of  rubrics  thorough  or  the  re- 
verse,  my  motto  is:    Do  as  I  sav  not  a.  I  Z 
Several   QuesUonl   QuesUon^  ^^         ^  "***' 

^'''  rri""I;    ^''"'"  '"^d^^^^y.  Father  Marr.  is  ap- 
parently  not  going  to  serve  you.    GentlemeS 

Tit  :;![»  'r'^  *'^  '"""^^     ^hose  in  fTv"; 
of  a  will  please  say  "aye." 

ll"  great  majority.  Aye.  aye.  aye! 

«y  -no."  °*"'°"  *'  '"°"''"  *"'  P'*"" 

Pr.Marrandieueraloldtten.  No' 
f  r.  rofcan.  The  "ayes"  have  it.  Father  Marr  vo., 

are  (he  official  celebrant  of  the  dry  M«. 

inZn'"-  ^\Z  •"•^  "^«"«''  ft^owllyle 
in  one  respect.  Mr.  Chairman,  perhaps  we  had 
better  continue  the  process.  I  accordindy 
nominate  as  rubrical  censor  Father  O'Brien 

fta  If  no  one  objects.  I  shall  save  Ume  by 
dedanng  your  moUon  carried I  thouahl 

^r,    ".?"  ?™™'  y""  ««  *<=  rubricates 
sor  for  the  afternoon. 

"'■■  F?,h,TT '  .'I".  ^•"'  ^""^  provided  for 
Father  Tom's  bem«  more  sinned  against  than 
«nmng;  but.  as  the  criUc's  duties  this  ate" 

^rjr  f"'^  """"'«'>'•  I  """Pt.    Tob" 
ffn  with,  I  suggest  that  we  divide  the  Mass 

Xh  ^    r  P^™^  '""-inating  respecUvely 
with  the  Creed,  the  Consecration  and  the  last 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


45 


Gospel.  The  celebrant  will  proceed  without 
interruption  throughout  each  period  and  the 
comments  of  the  censor  will  be  made  only  at 
the  end  of  such  period.  This  plan  will,  I  think, 
economize  lime  and  moreover  lessen  the  fa- 
tigue of  the  celebrant  who  may  sit  during  the 
criticism.  I  should  like  to  hear  the  opinion 
of  Father  Conners  on  this  modification  of 
our  usual  procedure. 

Fr.  Conners.  I  think  it  an  admirable  plan.  In  any 
case,  it  will  do  no  harm  to  try  it  for  once. 
What  do  you  think  of  it,  Mr.  Chairman? 

Fr.  Toban.  Quite  as  you  do;  by  all  means  let 
us  give  it  a  trial. 

Fr.  O'Brien.  In  that  case,  Father  Marr,  I  shall 
ask  you  to  accompany  me  to  the  sacristy,  be- 
hind the  altar  there,  to  prepare  to  say  the 
Mass  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  to  proceed  with 
the  Mass  up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Creed. 
[Exeunt  Frs.  Marr  and  O'Brien. 

Fr.  Gormmey  (sotto  voce  to  Fr.  Harnett).  Poor 
Tom!  He's  in  for  it!  That  young  O'Brien  is 
too  smooth;  he  means  mischief,  or  I  lose  my 
guess. 

Fr.  Harnett.  Yes;  I'm  afraid  I  made  a  mistake  in 
nominating  him  as  censor. 

Fr.  Launay  (aside  to  Fr.  McTavish).  Has  O'Brien 
been  specializing  on  the  rubrics  recently? 

Fr.  McTavish.  As  old  Father  Murphy  said  about 
saying  Mass  in  green  on  St.  Patrick's  Day,  just 
you  watch  him. 

[Enter  Father  Marr,   vested,   and   Father 
O'Brien.     The  latter  beckons  to  Father  Rob- 


! 


HP 
H 
pi 

I 

< 

n 

3; 

L 


46 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


IV 


erts,  to  act  as  server  and  the  Mass  begins.     As 
it  proceeds,  the  censor  is  seen  to  jot  down  oc- 
casional notes  in  a  memorandum  book:  Father 
Conners   raised   his   eyebrows   at   times;   and 
the  Vicar  General  shakes  his  head  more  than 
once.    All  follow  the  movements  of  the  cele- 
brant ivith  marked  attention  until  the  end  of 
the  Creed. 
Fr.  O'Brien.    Now,  Father  Marr,  if  you  will  kindly 
take  a  seat,  we  shall  discuss  the  rubrics  of  this 
first  period.     (The  celebrant  descends  and  sits 
down.)    At  the  outset  I  wish  to  retract  a  state- 
ment which  I  made  in  good  faith  in  our  pre- 
liminary talk,— that  our  senior  clerics  would  not 
be  handicapped  by  nervousness.    Nothing  else 
than  nervousness,  I  feel  sure,  can  account  for  the 
numerous  points  in  which  our  worthy  celebrant 
has    departed    from    the    ritum,    modum,    ac 
normam  prescribed  by  the  Bull  prefixed  to  the 
missal  of  Pius  V.    For  instance,  'twas  his  ner- 
vousness, no  doubt,  that  made  him  forget  to 
prepare  the  missal  before  leaving  the  sacristy. 
Fr.  Marr.    Not  at  all.    I  found  the  Mass,  as  I  al- 
ways do,  before  descending  to  begin  the  Judica 
me,    Deus.     The    rubrics    distinctly    say    this 
should  be  done. 
Fr.  O'Brien.    Quite  so;  but  a  previous  rubric  just 
as  distinctly  states  that,  in  the  sacristy,  before 
vesting,  the  priest  "takes  the  missal,  finds  out 
and  looks  over  the  Mass  to  be  said  and  the 
prayers  prescribed;  and  arranges  the  registers 
of  the  missal  in  their  proper  places,  so  as  to 
avoid  mistakes  or  loss  of  time  at  the  altar." 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS    47 


Fr.  Tohan.  An  excellent  reason  for  a  wise  pre- 
scription. I  have  seen  priests  spend  fully  six 
or  seven  minutes  hunting  up,  at  the  altar,  the 
Mass  that  should  have  been  found  before  they 
left  the  sacristy.  Such  delay  is  an  annoyance 
and  a  disedification  to  the  faithful. 

Fr.  Schetris.  But,  after  all,  the  rubric  cited  by 
the  censor  is  rather  directive  than  precep- 
tive,— is  it  not? 

Fr.  O'Brien.  Neither  more  directive  nor  less  pre- 
ceptive than  that  which  prescribes  the  wash- 
ing of  the  hands  before  vesting.  The  one 
rubric  is  on  all  fours  with  the  other.  To  be 
consistent  one  should  conform  to  both,  or 
neither.  T  get  on:  you  probably  noticed  that 
our  celeb.ta.nt  carried  his  handkerchief  and 
reading-glasses  on  the  Burse  over  the  Chalice. 
That  is  of  course  forbidden:  not  even  the  key 
of  the  tabernacle  may  be  placed  there.  Apro- 
pos of  carrying  the  Chalice,  you  were  doubt- 
less surprised  to  see  that  while  Father  Marr 
correctly  held  its  knob  with  his  left  hand,  his 
right  arm  was  swinging.  The  rubrics  pre- 
scribe that  the  right  hand  be  placed  upon  the 
Burse,  quite  naturally  to  prevent  the  tipping 
over  of  Burse,  Veil,  and  Paten.  I  have  noted 
in  my  memorandum  here  that  the  celebrant's 
inclinations  or  reverences  call  for  comment. 
If  Father  Marr  will  pardon  me  for  saying  so, 
I  should  like  to  state  that  he  is  neither  so 
long-armed  nor  so  broad-shouldered  as  he 
evidently  thinks  he  is.  His  inclinations  or 
bows,  on  arriving  at  the  altar,  before  begin- 


48 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQUIES 


li 

I' 

i  I 

4 


mng  the  Judica  me,  Deus,  during  the  ConfUeor, 
and   throughout   the  Munda  cor  meum  were 
moderate,  rather  than  profound  as  they  should 
have  been.     To  bow  profoundly,  in   the  ru- 
brical sense,  is  to  bend  so  low  that  one  can 
touch  the  knees  with  one's  hands,  or  even,  ac- 
cording    to     some     rubricists,     with     crossed 
hands.    Father  Marr's  hands,  had  he  lowered 
them,  would  not  have  come  within  six  or  eight 
inches  of  his  knees.    So,  too,  with  his  extend- 
mg  his  hands.     "The  hands,  when  extended, 
should  not  be  farther  apart  or  nearer  together 
than  the  width  of  the  shoulders;   when  ele- 
vated they  should  not  be  raised  higher  than 
the    shoulders;    and    in    both    positions    they 
should  be  so  held  that  the  palms  shall  face 
each  other."    Our   celebrant's   hands,    as   you 
have  seen,  were  both  farther  apart  than  the 
breadth  of  his    shoulders    and    raised  to  the 
height  of  his  ears,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact 
that  his  pahns  faced  the  altar  rather  than  each 
other. 

Fr  Launay.  You  have  said  nothing,  Mr.  Censor, 
of  the  celebrant's  having  come  out  to  the  altar 
by  the  EpisUe,  instead  of  the  Gospel  side.  Are 
we  to  infer  that  y«ur  silence  ton  that  point 
means  you  think  him  right? 

^'iu^/^r"!!""  ^°'  necessarily.  It  means  rather 
that  I  don't  think  him  indisputably  wrong,  as 
he  was  on  the  points  to  which  I  have  called 
your  attention.  I  have  purposely  avoided 
mentioning  controverted  matters,  as  they 
usuaUy  take  up  a  good  deal  of  time,  ind  leave 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


49 


us  just  about  where  we  are  at  the  start.    Per- 
sonally   for  instance,    I    think    Father    Marr 
should   have   approached    the   altar   from   the 
Gospel  side;  but.  as  he  could  at  need  quote 
authority  for  his  action,  I  said  nothing 
Pr-Marr     Thereby    showing    your     discretion. 
Wapelhorst  declares  that  when  the  sacristy  is 
directly  behind  the  altar,  the  latter  should  be 
approached  from  the  EpisUe  side. 
^O'Brien.    Not   quite    accurate.   Father  Marr. 
Wapelhorst  used  to  say  that,  but  in  his  later 
editions  he  declares  the  opposite       Zualdi  and 
OCallaghan,  however,  in  "The  Sacred  Cere- 
monies of  Low  Mass"  (seventh  edition,  1909) 
do  uphold  your  contention,  as  does  also  Fathe^ 
Uoyle,  S.  J.,  in  his  excellent  little  brochure, 
Synopsis  of  the  Rubrics  and  Ceremonies    of 
Holy  Mass,"  published  as  late  as   1914       To 
mention  something  else  for  which,  so  far  as 
1  am  aware,  you  can  cite  the  authority  of  no 
rubricist,  you  began  the  Kyrie  Eleison  before 
you  reached  the  middle  of  the  altar.    That's 
a  very    common  fault  which  rubricists    very 
commonly  condemn. 
Fr  Toban.    Pardon  me.  Father  O'Brien,  but  I've 
been  waiting  for  your  comment  on  the  height 
at  which  the  celebrant  carried  Uie  Chalice  in 
coming  to  tiie  altar. 
Fr.  O'Brien.      Rather  stupid  of  me  not  to  have 

in^     ?,'*^  -^^^    ^'  "^""^^^   ^*   altogether  too 

Z'  *   ^^''^^^^^^i  mentions   the   point   as   one 

about  which  mistakes  are  often  made.      Some 


il 


fc       f 


I'    r 

i 


50 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i?     ! 


carry  the  Chalice,  as  our  celebrant  has  done, 
in  front  of  the  waist;  others  in  front  of  the 
shoulders.  The  proper  position  for  it  is,  of 
course,  in  front  of  the  breast. 

Fr.  Scherris.  Five  or  six  inches  lower  or  higher 
than  the  breast  would  not,  I  suppose,  consti- 
tute a  grievous  offense. 

Fr.  O'Brien.  Not  in  itself;  but  I  need  not  tell  so 
sound  a  theologian  as  the  last  speaker  that  the 
frame  of  mind  indicated  by  habitual  mini- 
mizing of  the  binding  force  of  the  rubrics,  the 
guofi-contempt  of  the  multifarious  details  of 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  and  the 
tendency  to  ridicule  those  who  carefully  ob- 
serve even  the  most  minute  prescriptions  laid 
down  for  its  celebration,  does  constitute  an 
offense  considerably  more  grievous  than  a 
good  priest  should  like  to  have  on  his  con- 
science. Even  as  regards  particular  points, 
such  as  the  one  we  have  been  speaking  of, 
the  carrying  of  the  Chalice,  it  is  well  to  re- 
member the  declaration  of  the  Roman  Synod, 
in  1725,  that  these  rites  of  the  Mass  "in  mini- 
mis etiam  sine  peccato  negligi,  omitti,  aut 
mutari  baud  possunt." 

Fr.  McTavish  (aside  to  Fr.  Roberts).  What  did 
I  tell  you?  I  guess  we'll  have  no  further  re- 
marks from  Scherris. 

Fr.  O'Brien.  To  economize  time,  I'm  afraid  we 
shall  have  to  be  content  with  the  briefest  men- 
tion of  the  other  points  I  have  noted  in  my 
memorandum.  In  kissing  the  altar,  Father 
Marr  neglected  to  place  his  hands  outside  the 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS  61 

corporal;  he  twisted  his  body  and  turned  his 
neck;  and,  moreover,  he  kissed    it    rather  at 
the  side  than  in  the  centre.    All  these   defects 
arose  from  his  standing  too  close  to  the  altar, 
mstead  of  drawing  back  from  it  a  little  before 
bowing    to    give    the    kiss.      Another  matter 
which  calls  for  a  word  of  comment:  the  cele- 
brant's different  tones  of  voice.    We  all  know 
that  the  rubrics  prescribe  three  separate  tones- 
the  clear,  audible  by  those  at  some  distance 
from  the  altar— by  all  of  us,  I  should  think,  in 
a   chapel  no  larger  than  this  one;   the  mod- 
erate,   that   can   be  heard   by    the  server  and 
those  quite  near  the  altar;  and  the  low  or  se- 
cret, audible    only    to    the    celebrant    himself. 
Now,  the  portion  of  the  Mass  through    which 
we  have  gone  rarely  calls  for  any  other  than 
the  first  tone,  the  clear;  yet  Father  Marr,  in 
his  reading  of  the  Gloria  and  the  Credo,  has 
given  us  all  three.      As  you  cannot  have  failed 
to  notice,  his  voice  repeatedly  ran  the  gamut 
from  a  high  and  disUnct  tone,  through  a  grad- 
ually  sinking  one,  to    a   faint   and  inaudible 
murmur.      Not  even  Father  Roberts,  the  server 
could  distinguish,  I  venture  to  say,  more  than 
two-thirds  the  words  in  either  the  Gloria  or 
the  Symbol. 

Fr.  Roberts.  Hardly  that  many;  but  I  did  dis- 
tinctly hear  him  introduce  a  superfluous  Et 
when  repeating  the  antiphon  at  the  end  of  the 
psalm  Judica  me.  Deus,—Et  introibo,  instead 
of  Introibo. 

Fr.  O'Brien.    The  point  is  weU  taken;  the  Et  was 


'I: 


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1:1 


r         ""■■ 

;i 

!i 

5f CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


wrong.  And  now,  unless  some  one  has  further 
remarks  to  make,  perhaps  we  ma-  ask  Father 
Marr  to  continue  the  Mass. 

[The  celebrant  ascends  the  altar,  says  the 
Dominus  vohiscum  and  proceeds  until  the  con- 
secration of  the  Chalice  is  completed,  when  he 
again  takes  his  seat] 
Fr.  Toban.  If  you  will  permit  me,  Mr.  Censor,  I 
should  like  to  suggest  that  you  limit  your  criti- 
cism of  this  second  period  to  the  more  notable 
errors  or  blunders  of  the  celebrant,  assuming 
that  he  has  made  any.  While  I  find  this  ses- 
sion extremely  interesting,  as  I  am  sure  do  all 
the  Reverend  Fathers,  I  must  not  forget  that 
we  have  a  conference  by  the  retreat-master  at 
five  o'clock. 

Fr.  O'Brien.    Very  well,  Mr.  Chairman.    I  shall 
endeavor  to  be  as  brief  as  possible.    To  begin 
with,  our  celebrant,  while  pouring  the  wine 
and  water  into  the  Chalice,  held  the  Puriflcator 
with  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand  on  the  cup  of 
the  Chalice,  instead  of  on  its  knob.      At  the 
Oflfertory,  he  raised  both  the  Paten  and  the 
Chalice  too  high;   the  former  should  not  be 
lifted  higher  than  the  breast,  and   the   top   of 
the  latter  should  not  be  above  the  eyes.      In 
making  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  Chalice 
he  made  it  pass  over  the  Host,  which  is  for- 
bidden, and  his  crosses,  made  with  both  Paten 
and   Chalice,  were   hardly   of   the    prescribed 
length. 

Fr.  McTavish.    What  is  that  length,  may  I  ask? 
Fr.  O'Brien.    O'Callaghan  says  the  sign  should  be 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


58 


made  "in  straight  and  equal  Unes,  about  nine 
inches  long,"  and  Doyle,  a  litUe  more  definite- 
ly, says:  "Form  sign  of  cross,  each  arm  nine 
mches  long."  The  arms  of  our  celebrant's 
crosses  to  which  I  have  referred  were  scarce- 
ly four  inches  in  length.  At  the  Lavabo  Father 
Marr  washed,  I  noticed,  two  or  three  fingers 
of  each  hand,  whereas  the  rubrics  call  for  the 
washing  of  only  the  Ups  of  the  thumb  and 
forefinger  of  each. 
Fr.  Roberts.  I  don't  know  whether  you  remarked 
It,  Mr.  Censor,  but  the  celebrant,  after  saying 
the  Orate,  fratres,  answered  Amen  before  I 
had  half  finished  the  Suscipiat  Dominus.  Is 
that  right? 

Fr.  O'Brien.  Decidedly  not;  nor  should  the  cele- 
brant have  said  the  Orate,  fratres,  in  the  same 
clear  tone  in  which  he  said  the  Dominus  vobia- 
cum.  Those  two  words,  like  the  Sanctus  to 
excelsif  inclusively,  the  three  words  Nobis 
quoque  peccatoribus,  and  the  four  words  Dom- 
ine,  non  sum  dignus  should  be  said  in  the  mod- 
erate tone  audible  to  those  only  who  are  near 
the  altar. 

Fr.  Launay.  Apropos  of  tones,  what  is  to  be  said 
of  the  practice  some  priests  have  of  pronounc- 
mg  the  words  of  the  consecration  in  a  loud 
whisper  audible  a  good  distance  from  the 
altar? 

Fr.  O'Brien.  It  is  condemnable,  and,  so  far  as  I 
know,  is  actually  condemned  by  all  rubricists 
of  repute.  You  are  probably  aware  that  St. 
Alphonsus  says  it  would  be  a  mortal  sin  to  pro^ 


lilJ 


\ 


'II 


64 


CLEBIGAL  COLLOQUIES 


i    i 


nounce  them  so  loud  as  to  be  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance of  forty  paces  or  yards  from  ♦he  altar. 
Father  Marr's  tone  at  the  Consecration  was 
properly  secret;  but  his  inclinations  during 
that  part  of  the  Canon  left  something  to  be  de- 
sired. Even  those  rubricists  who  think  that  an 
inclination  of  the  head  may  accompany  the 
genuflections  made  from  the  Consecration  to 
Communion,  do  not  authorize  the  simultane- 
ous bending  of  the  shoulders.  It  is  not  quite 
certain,  I  think,  that  the  expressions  *genu- 
flexus  Sacranientum  adorat,"  **genuflexus  eum 
adorat,"  "genuflexus  sanguinem  reverenter 
adorat"  mean  even  that  the  head  should  be 
bowed:  they  may  well  refer  merely  to  one's 
mental  attitude,  advising  that  our  genuflections 
to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  actually  before  us 
on  the  altar  be  made  with  greater  gravity  and 
devotion,  without  prescribing  our  depart- 
ing from  the  general  rule,  which  is  that,  as  the 
major  reverence  includes  the  minor,  the  genu- 
flection is  made  without  any  inclination  of  the 
head  or  body.  In  any  case,  the  ungraceful 
stooping  of  both  head  and  shoulders  while  one 
is  genuflecting  is  certainly  not  enjoined  bv  the 
rubrics. 

Fr.  Launay.  While  we  are  on  the  subject  of  in- 
clinations I  should  Jike  to  know  whether  the 
celebrant  bowed  profoundly,  or  moderately, 
while  he  was  saying  the  Te  igitur. 

Fr.  O'Brien.  Only  moderately,  though  he  should 
have  bowed  profoundly.   . 

Fr.  Scherris.  Excuse  me,  but  in  that  case  how 
could  he  have  read  the  prayer? 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


55 


Fr.OBnen.  He  is  not  supposed  to  read  it.  The 
rubrics  take  it  for  granted  that  he  knows  it 
by  heaH.  These,  Mr.  Chairman,  are  the  prin- 
cipal comments  which  seem  to  be  calJed  for 
by  the  celebrant's  performance  of  the  second 
portion  of  the  Mass,  although  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  I  have  omitted  some  of  more  impor- 
tance than  those  I  have  made.  I  shaU  be  glad 
to  have  any  such  omissions  supplied  by  your- 
self. Father  Conners,  or  any  tother  priest 
present. 

Fr.  Toban.    No,  I  have  nothing  to  add  in  the  mat- 
ter of  criticism.     Have  you.  Father  Conners? 

t^r.Lonners.    Just  a  word  on  one  departure  from 
the  rubrics   which   in   my   experience   I  have 
found  as  common  as  it  is  ungraceful,  not  to 
say  irreverent.     I  noUced  that,  when  leaving 
the  middle  of  the  altar,  after  oflFering  the  Host, 
to  go  to  the  EpisUe  side  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  the  wine  and  water  in.o  the  Chalice, 
Uie  celebrant  at  once  took  up  tiie  Chalice  and 
proceeded  to  wipe  it  with  the  Furificator  while 
moving  over  to  the  Epistle  coiner.    That  is  in- 
correct.    The  rubrics  expressly  state  that    he 
should  go  to  the  Epistle  comer  with  his  hands 
joined,  and,  only  when  there,  take  the  Chalice 
and  wipe  it.    It  may  be  well  to  add  that  some 
rubricists  advise  the  holding  of  the  Chalice  at 
Its  cup  rather  than  its  knob  while  it  is  being 
wiped,  in  order  to  avoid  straining  or  breaking 

Fr.  Toban.     Any  further  remarks?    No?    Then 
Father  Marr  may  proceed  to  finish  the  Mass. 


IS  yiL 


I 
fc 

< 


i 


56 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i;ii 


P'!i 


I 


[The  celebrant  ascendt  the  altar,  begins  at 
the  Unde  et  memores  and  continuet  until,  at 
the  end  of  the  last  Gospel,  he  takes  the  Chalice 
and  descends  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  and 
kneels.] 

Fr.  O'Brien.    That  will  do,  Father  Marr;  we  will 
dispense   with   the   players.     Father  Roberts, 
kindly    take    the    Chalice    into    the  sacristy. 
(Father  Roberts  does  so  and  Father  Marr  sits 
down.)  To  take  up  the  last  point  first,  let  me 
say  that,  while  it  is  possibly  authorized,  or  at 
least  condoled,  by  a  few  rubricists,  the  cus- 
tom of  saying  the  prayers  after  Mass  with  the 
Chalice  in  one's  hands  is  not  a  laudable  one. 
Any  decisions  on  the  matter,  so  far  as  I  know, 
declare  that  th^-je  prayers  should  be  said  with 
the  hands  joined,  and  that  prescription  presup- 
poses that  the  Chalice  is  left  on  *    ».  altar  un- 
til the  conclusion  of  the  prayers. 
Fr.  Conners.    Quite  right,  Mr.  Cei  or,  it  should 
be  left  there.    The  contrary  practice  is  at  most 
tolerated,  not  approved. 
Fr.  Gormmey.    Granting  that  the  ChaUce  should 
be  left  on  the  ajtar,  may  one  say  those  prayers 
on  the  top  st  p,  or  shouJd  they  be  said  on  the 
lowest  one? 
Fr.  O'    -ien.    In  that  respect,  I  believe  that  prac- 
tice   <Jiffers.     Personally,  I  prefer    the    lowest 
step;  although  the  matter  is  probably  ad  lib- 
itum.   To  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  this  third 
period,  the  celebrant's  inclination  during  the 
Supplices  te  rogamus  was  moderate  instead  of 
profound;  and  while  signing  himself  with  the 


FATHER  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS  67 


wgn  of  the  cross  at  omni  benedictione,  etc.,  he 
kept  his  left  hand  on  the  Corporal  instead  of 
placing  it  under  his  breast.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  Memento  for  the  dead  he  did  not  bow 
his  head  while  saying  Per  eumdem  Christum, 
etc, 

Fr.Scherris.    And   why  should   he?    The   Holy 
v    ^^  .^°®'  "°*  appear  in  that  conclusion. 
Fr.  OBrien.    No,  but  the  rubrics  distincUy  pre- 
scnbe     the     bowing,     nevertheless.       Several 
authors  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  is 
Mje  only  exception  of  the  kind  In  the  enUre 
Mass.     To  continue:    our  celebrant  extended 
his  hands  at  the  PraeceptU  salutaribus  instead  of 
keeping  them  joined  until  he  began  the  Pater 
proper.    At  the  Agnus  Dei  he— 
Fr  McTauish.    T-rdon  me,  Mr.  Censor,  but  I  no- 
iced  that  when  he  had  put  the  Paten  under 
the  Host,  Father  Marr  did  not  lean  the  Paten 
on  the  foot  of  the  Chalice,  as  I  was  taught  to 
do.    Was  he  correct? 

^'ixr?'.? "^''"  '  *^°"'^  °°*  ^^'■^  *o  say  he  was  not. 
While  several  authors-among  others,  Zualdi. 
Devme,  and  Doyle-prescribe  such  leaning. 
Martmucci  says  nothing  about  it.  and  Wapel- 
horst  declares  that  the  Paten  may  either  be 
leaned  on  the  foot  of  the  Chalice,  or  placed 
a  little  distance  from  the  center  on  the  Epistle 

n  .  .u  \  T^^  ^^"""^  *°  remark,  at  the  Agnus 
Dei  the  celebrant's  inclination  was  slight  rather 
than  moderate:  that  is,  he  bowed  only  his  head 
mstead  of  head  and  shoulders.  The  same 
moderate  inclination  is  prescribed  during  the 


II    i 


68 


CLBBICAL  COLLOQUIBfl 


«dljj«.n  «f  U.e    three  p„y.„  ^^  ^„. 

make  it  rather  awkward  to  read  thoae  prayer, 
on  the  altar  card?  F'"j'i:ra 

''';„'J.f"'"j  ?"**  '*"'"•  ""'y  "«  not  »uppo.ed 
to  be  read,  but  rocited.  "firoea 

you  And  oay  authority  for  the  statement    hat 

^  i,^n^,'»-  '»"■«  Mi«,«l  itself.  TheftVwcete- 
W,  M,„„„  ,ay,  that  they  a™  to  be  recited 
oeulu  ad  Sacnmentum  inteniii,  with  Bve. 
fixed  on  the  Sacred  Host;  and,  obviously  *T« 
can-t  look  at  the  Host  and  at  the  altar"aM  "t 
the  same  Ume  Needles,  to  say.  any  praye™ 
to  be  said  while  one  is  profoundly  iLlin.S 
muit  be  known  by  heart.  inclined 

ihf^""iT    T*"!  """'  P«>f»«nd  bow  made  by 

Se  pl^eTrt^lV'  *■'<'"'  "««  -«»  a^ 
me  Hiaceat  Ttbi  before  giving  the  ble«i„.. 

and,  if  I  remember  well,  WapeU,o„t  s^y.  Sf 

the^  pr^er  should  be  said  with  only  ftThtd 

'^''d?'^"'"-  Wapelhorst  therein  agrees  with  th. 
Rifu.  celebrandi.  but  the  Ordo  ut^ae^^ys^, 
inclmat  which  seems  to  imply  a  moderate  in 

D^rihe  ^H*'  "^Z"-    O'Cal'aghan  and  Doy?; 
prescribe  this  moderate  inclinaUon-  Martinnr 

c.  says  to  bow  the  head;  and  the  oily  a^Z' 

•o  far  as  I  know,  that  justiHes  Father  S 


FATHEB  TOM  SAYS  DRY  MASS 


W 

profound  bow  is  Devine    in  hi.  "H^a: 

the  Mmb."  Ordii.ary  of 

\c^Irf\     ^T'  ''"y   «"»»»««•  J"«tifv   genu. 

j?J  JJ.n  .     "^  *^°"**^  o'  *he  altar? 
edao     a\  *''°"*^  **^  ^»'«"»  I  have  any  knowl- 

has  not  blinded  me  tn  VkL  «     ?       .      '^"**"<^ 

celebration       In  X  ^i^L^^A^^H*'  '"  ''^ 
the  flravitv   nf   hi-  ^  ^  °^  *•"  demeanor 

celebratinff  woulrf  hnv.  •  *  **'*  '"anner   of 

that,  if  Father  Man-  pra^totert   h"  "°,/""'" 
inff  thp   r«n«*  prostrated   himself  dur- 

ing tiie   Confitcor   or   said    the   O^rfo   «„    k- 
knees  with  his  arms  outstretched  «thpf 

-elf  0.e  piou,  .an,?  Wh^^rt5;™.'t« 


;  r 


60 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


to  remember  is  that,  just  as  not  all  who  say 
"Lord,  Lord!"  shall  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  only  those  who  do  the  will  of  the 
Father;  so  not  all  who  edify  the  faithful  by 
their  reverent  exterior  and  their  deliberation 
while  at  the  altar,  but  those  only  who  know 
and  carry  out  every  detail  of  the  rubrics,  cele- 
brate Mass  worthily.  We  shall  now  say  the 
Sub  tuum. 


I 


4I 


IS       I 

if 


'  i  ■ 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS 

fem^  **""*'^  ^  "*»*  priert-ridden,  but  p««-ridd«a._Long. 

F.  Thomas,  S.  T.L  ^  failure.— T»«  Bev.  C. 


by  those  whom  Cf    stian^Saritr  ^.^Z.  5l*v'  "S*  ^-P^d^J 
from  the  poisonous  ^ou^^T^i&^KjJ^^lp^jfp^^. 


T'TnH 'J^'"*  °^  *^'  P^P"^  "  »o  hackneyed, 
sflf  JSin  ^T^^^  ""^^^^"^  ^^  *^  hook  has  him- 
self  wntten  and  said,  or  at  least  read  and  heard 
so  much  about  it.  that  it  is  perhaps  somewhat  rash 
to  attempt  any  further  discussion  of  ireven  if 
one  hop^  to  exemplify  in  its  treatment  thl^e 
advocated  by  Benedict  XV.  in  his  first  Encycli^l' 
Old  thmgs.  but  in  a  new  way.-    Yet,  trite  as  Tre 

^i^ff^^fh  *"  T  ™"'*'  °^  the^onsiderations  tSIt 
proflfer  themselves  to  a  writer  on  the  press  L 

?^JL  ,k'  °°^  °^  '""^^  perennial  importance  t^t 
m  reahty  no  more  apology  should  be  needed  for 
another  exposition  of  some  of  its  phases  th-ni^ 
needed  by  a  preacher  for  another  LiSon^n  the 
annually  recurring  Gospel  of  the  S^day  It  i! 
a  matter  as  to  which  one  may  weU  annlv  th! 
reviaed  verdon  of  an  old  prov^f  "vauW 

61 


if!: 

A 

i 


62 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


r 


not  only  strike  the  ii^on  while  'tis  hot,  but  should 
keep  on  striking  the  cold  iron  till  it  gets  hot.*' 

As  an  advisable  preliminary  to  the  present 
writer's  statement  of  his  views  on  the  correlative 
duties  of  the  clergy  and  the  press,  he  may  be  par- 
doned for  showing  the  credentials  which  will  per- 
haps acquit  him  of  impertinence  in  discussing 
the  question  at  all.  For  the  past  quarter  of  a 
century,  then,  I  have  been  connected,  either  as 
editorial  contributor  or  as  associate-editor,  with 
a  Catholic  weekly.  Dm*ing  the  greater  portion 
of  that  period,  pbrt  of  my  daily  work  has  been 
to  examine  carefully  successive  issues  of  the  ma- 
jority of  Catholic  periodicals  published  through- 
out the  English-speaking  world,  and  a  more  lim- 
ited number  of  French  papers  and  magazines  as 
well.  The  convictions  formed  as  a  result  of  that 
experience  may  or  may  not  be  correct,  but  they 
are  tolerably  definite  and  settled.  In  any  case, 
they  are  convictions,  strong  beliefs  held  on  satis- 
factory evidence,  not  mere  opinions  loosely  enter- 
tained and  readily  changed,  still  less  momentary 
impressions  as  variable  as  the  lights  and  shadows 
that  play  over  a  summer  lake. 

In  its  widest,  most  general  sense,  "the  press" 
denotes  the  sum  total  of  printed  literature;  and 
even  in  its  most  specific  sense,  that  in  which  it 
is  applied  to  newspapers  and  other  periodical 
pub' •  cations,  it  is  a  multifarious  entity  subject  to 
almost  indefinite  classification.  For  the  purposes 
of  the  present  article  a  brief  division  will  be  suf- 
ficient. The  press  with  which  the  ordinary  priest 
in  this  country  has,  or  may  have,  to  do  comprises 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS 


63 


IvT/h- n,  r"*  periodicals  that  are:  professed- 
ular  Ih  'J^'^'  "^"-Catholic,  but  reli^ous;  sec- 
ular and  ultra-8ensatioiial-«yellow  journals"- 
secular  and  reputable;   and  citholic.    WiT  .el 

pnest.  both  m  his  personal  and  his  pastoral  ca- 

whafinVf '.\''^'^**^  ^*«°^'  *°  det^ermLe  just 
what  attitude  is  his  congruous  one.  and  to  carrj 

out  m  practice  the  line  of  conduct  which  in  th  "5^ 
he  recognizes  as  right  and  proper.  ^ 

aartl  ^"  "'  ^^  ^"*  *''°  °^  *^««  of  these  cate- 
gones  are  concerned,  his  duty  is  fairly  obvious 

CathnlT'''f^*7  '""^^   *°  *«y  that  *e  lels  a 
Cathohc    clerical  or  lay.   has   to   do  with^uch 
papers,  the  better.    Concerning  anti-CathoUc  and 
sectanan  periodicals,  indeed,  one's  con^uous  at 
titude  IS  unmistakably  clear.    Such  publications 

UDon ''thn  *'**  ""^  ^^'  ^^^^'  ^^^^  »«y«  its  ban 
upon  Uiose  newspapers  and  periodicals  which 
not  only  now  and  Uien.  but  re^larly  andTset' 
gatT^ti  CatL'r""^°°/°'  Hitrali^.Tr'p^i;:! 
seemTo  fn  1^  '  "^r"'  '^^^^  *««t  clause  woSld 
seem  to  include  not  only  such  papers  as  the 
Menace  tiie  Peril,  etc.  but  the  sectarian  week 
lies  which  professed!,  defend  heresies  and  ^abt" 

obhgaUons.  In  the  first  place,  he  hims,  a,  a 
rule,  and  without  the  due  authorizaUon  of  his 
ecclesiashcal  superiors  must  not  read  ttiem-  in 
Ihe  second,  he  must  instruct  hi,  people  tha"fte 


I. 


I 

I 

i: 

i  ^ 

I: 


64 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


reading  of  them  is  sinful,  and,  according  to  the 
theologians,  mortally  so.  It  may  be  well  in  this 
connexion  to  remind  the  clergy,  and  more  espe- 
cially the  younger  portion  ihereof,  that  the  brief 
of  Leo  XIII,  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  the  Index 
revised  by  his  authority,  states  that  it  is  binding 
"on  all  the  faithful  of  the  universe,  regardless  of 
race  or  language,  nationality  or  country,  educa- 
tion, learning  or  station  in  life."  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  there  is  a  tendency  among  the 
younger  priests  of  this  country  to  consider  that 
their  ordinatiou  exempted  them  ipso  facto  from 
obedience  to  the  prescriptions  of  the  Index;  and 
we  have  even  heard  clerics  flippantly  assert  that 
"such  legislation  was  never  meant  to  apply  in  this 
country,  anyway."  That  is  a  serious  mistake,  and 
may  easily  be  productive  of  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  even  the  most  brilliant  ecclesiastic. 
The  common  sense  of  the  matter  is  well  set  forth 
in  this  paragraph  from  the  little  treatise  of  Father 
Betten,  S.J.: 

Suppose  a  person  were  so  well  grounded  in 
faith  and  virtue,  so  thoroughly  versed  in  theology, 
philosophy,  and  the  natural  sciences  that  the 
reading  of  books,  e.  g.  on  Christian  Science  or 
the  works  of  Voltaire,  would  not  harm  him.  The 
Index  prohibits  these  books;  would  he  whom  they 
could  not  harm  be  allowed  to  read  them?  As  we 
put  the  case,  he  would  not,  by  reading  them,  com- 
mit the  sin  of  seriously  endangering  his  soul.  Yet 
he  would  sin  by  disregarding  a  positive  law  of  the 
Church.  These  laws  are  like  the  precautionary 
measures  taken  by  the  civil  authorities  in  times 
of  epidemic;  if  they  are  to  have  the  desired  ef- 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS 


m 

antf?»^hl?r"'  T?  ^P"*-  **»•  «•'  ««<>»«  of 
?or  anv  cl  hT  •"r'='»"'"'  periodical,  is  a  ,i„ 
lor  any  Catliolic,  pnest  or  layman,  wlio  has  nni 
previously  obtained  due  permission  .pread  them 
from  the  ordinary  or  other    properly  defeated 

r^u'.^?',,'"'"""'"^-    ™^  overage  pastor''m:y 
do  well  to  talce  account  of  tliis  truth  himself,  and 

as  occasion  serves,  to  expound  it  to  his  p;ople: 

In  hi,  own  case,  at  least,  ignorance  of  the  law 

•atrdSe"""" ''"'""'"«''  '"""-""-nol 
As  for  the  line  of  action  to  be  talcen  by  a  pas- 
tor whose  parish  is  being  flooded  with  copfes 

XZ.I      ,u   f'"^'-«°«  of  opinion  concerning 
the  best  methods  to  be  pursued.     Perhaps    the 
safest  course  for  the  individual  priest  to  follow 
«  to  d«cuss  the  whole  .juestion  wHh  his  ordinal 
explaming  the  effects  of  this  vile  propaganda  on 
lus  particular  Hock,  and  then  adont  (h„ 
which  the  bishop  advises  Is  The  mtt  expedTem 
Diversity  of  circumstances  will  of  couS^neces: 
filate,  or  at  least  jusUfy,  variety  of  aXn    b„ 
m  general  it  may  he  said  th,t  the  "silen^Vn! 

blX  fs'^or,  '""'/"«  '"^'^  "-ifesttls'o"; 
Ther;  .r  °^°'<=^'"'-  «■"'  ought  to  be  obsolete 
There_should  surely  be  sufficient  dynamic  foree 


■pr 


66 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I  :  , 


■[' 


--'1 


resident  in  the  Catholic  body  of  this  country  to 
prevent  the  dissemination  of  these  blasphemous 
and  calumniously  vituperative  periodicals  through 
the  agency  of  the  U.  S.  mails,  and  there  appears 
to  be  no  good  reason  why  the  clergy  should  not 
use  their  influence  in  bringing  about  so  desirable 
a  consummation. 

The  periodicals  which  we  have  classed  as  sec- 
ular and  ultra-sensational  deserve  from  the  priest 
much  the  same  treatment  as  those  forbidden  by 
the  Index.  Some  of  these  yellow  journals  indeed 
constructively  come  under  the  same  prohibition 
as  forbidden  books;  and  not  a  few  of  them  are 
condemned,  independently  of  any  positive  decree 
of  authority,  by  the  natural  law  which  obliges  us 
to  guard  our  souls  from  serious  danger.  No 
spiritual  guide  who  is  also  a  sane  observer  of  the 
times  needs  to  be  told  that  to  peruse  habitually, 
or  even  occasionally,  certain  popular  newspapers 
is  deliberately  to  seek  the  occasion  of  sin.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  priests  should  eschew  such 
perusal  in  their  own  case  and  protest  against  it 
in  the  case  of  their  people. 

As  for  reputable  secular  papers,  a  wide-awake, 
energetic  pastor  may  well  utilize  them  in  further- 
ing both  his  own  personal  work  and  the  larger 
interests  of  the  Church.  The  editors  of  such 
papers  will,  as  a  rule,  welcome  brief  letters  or 
pithy  communications  in  which  priests  well 
known  to  their  readers  give  the  Catholic  view  of 
questions  of  the  moment,  or  correct  the  false  im- 
pressions produced  by  some  quoted  lecturer  or 
preacher.     In  most  of  our  cities  and  towns  the 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS 


67 

S*^"*/ worm    ™7.rr"^  "^«-^«'>  "  • 

orX?«h  car -r  >  '^'  "-^  «''"^' 

occasion  profferai'^'lf'  J"*c.ou,ly  used  a«  the 

contributed  toX?  ™^^  r^*  communicaUons 
late  Dr.  McSweenv  ^''^P°''«»°  l""™"'  by  the 
and  other  pSenJh     """•  '^''*"  Stanley. 

Of  the  .culnTLlt  ^^.Vl'ZT  '■"*•"" 
lar  daily  less  n«f«^  .u       ?,^        °°°  it  in  a  secu- 

a  city  In^'Zut  IZ  y:.%"„r'T^  ■? 
reported  a  sermon  delivered  .h.  ^'  ''"'y 
ning.  in  one  of  the  citv^  P^,.,  ""f  f"™"'  «*«- 

Of  U.e  preacher•,^Sfe4e'^t^.°^f'■'^  V"* 
Utterances  deal  heaw  hlnJ-    ♦  fu  /  ,  *     '  ^^^ 

letter  from  a  pri«t,  t  l?r  T'"""  '  •"*«' 
forgoing  a^erro'^e^wlSt  toXr ""«  *^ 

men?^?^^'^  fa''goSStltf'',?»'^«8«ou,  ,tate- 
charit^R,  preSuSeSftat  ?;  v"  """•  todeed  be 
borne  fabe\ritness  aoaini.  Sf  '"'?  JJ"*  wittingly 
Uie  same  he  enSteS  i^„5".  "cghbors;  but  Ifl 

he  taken  the  pStoa4touMi'f5°5""'-  Had 
i»  the  Catholli  doSriM  abSS  .L' k""**  "H*  "hat 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  he  wo^3'h*«'»onor  given  to 

so  easily  attaindjle  a  biM*  ..  n^t  *scovered,  in 

catego/c  demTo?  fe1,S^«g,^':'  ^^^IIS 


91 


it 


68 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


do  not  believe  that  the  Blessed  Virdn  is  in  any 
way  equal  or  even  comparable  to  God,  for  she, 
being  a  creature,  although  the  most  hi^ly  fa- 
vored, is  infinitely  less  than  God."  Had  he  re- 
flected for  a  moment  on  the  import  of  the  com- 
monest Catholic  prayer  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
"Hail  Mary,"  he  could  not  but  have  recognized 
that  his  statement  was  not  only  untrue  but  utter- 
ly absurd.  "Holy  Mary,  Mother  of  God,"  pleads 
the  Catholic,  "pray  for  us  sinners,  now  and  at  the 
hour  of  our  death."  Whv  ask  her  to  pray  for  us, 
if  we  consider  her  "equal  with,  if  not  superior  to, 
the  Deity?" 

Such  apologetic  work  as  this,  a  mission  in  min- 
iature to  non-Catholics,  is  often  possible,  and,  in 
our  day  especially,  is  surely  worth  while  doing. 
Of  other  relations  which  the  priest  may  well  have 
with  reputable  secular  newspapers,  much  might 
be  said,  but  there  is  probably  no  necessity  of 
dwelling  upon  them  here. 

To  come  to  the  last  of  our  divisions  of  "the 
press,"  Catholic  papers  and  magazines:  these, 
above  all,  merit  the  serious  consideration  and  the 
many-sided  active  support  of  the  clergy,  and  it  is 
with  respect  to  such  periodicals  that  the  average 
priest  of  the  land  is  perhi«ys  doing  something  less 
than  his  full  duty.  Unfortunately,  indeed,  there 
are  clerics  not  a  few  who  seem  to  imagir-  that 
their  principal,  if  not  their  sole,  obligatio  ivith 
regard  to  the  Catholic  press  is  to  speak  of  ^.  dis- 
paragingly, to  emphasize  its  alleged  inferiority  to 
its  non-Catholic  competitors,  and  to  harp  coatin- 
ually  on  its  supposed  limitations  and  consequent 
inefficiency.     In  the  expressive,  if  not  very  ele- 


WS^: 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS 


gant.  vernacular  of  the  man  in  the  street,  alto- 
gether  too  many  priests  in  this  country  are  knock- 
ers  rather  than  boosters  of  our  Catholic  papers, 
censorious  critics,  rather  Uian  generous  helpers. 
Not  that  censorious  criUcism  is  always  out  of 
place,  either  concerning  occasional  issues  of 
normally  excellent  periodicals,  or  concerning  the 
habitual  pohcy  of  some  few  self-styled  Catholic 
journals;  but  the  clerical  atUtude  of  passive  indif- 
ference, or  more  or  less  active  opposiUon,  to  the 
Catholic  press  generally  is  clearly  wrong  and  in- 
defensible. 

!.♦  ^^u^^^l  **P°^  "*  °°*^^  ^*^  exceptional  cases, 
let  It  be  admitted  that  the  editor  of  the  Ecclesi- 
astical  Review  has  as  much  reason  now  as  he  had 
some  years  ago  for  declaring:    "Of  the  large  num- 
ber of  Cathohc  exchanges  received  by  us.  there 
are  several  that  we  could  not  allow  to  be  read  by 
TlT^H^  f  non-Catholics  or  young  persons,  from 
a  legitimate  fear  of  injuring  the  Catholic  name  or 
weakemng  the  Catholic  faith."     In  conversaUon 
wilh  an  American  archbishop  a  year  or  two  ago, 
the    present   writer   mentioned    among   Catholic 
journal  a  paper  pubhshed  in  the  prelate's  own 
cay  and  edited  by  one  of  his  own  priests,  and  Ts 
not  a  httle  edifi.  .1  at  the  archbishop's  peremptZ 
comment:    "That  is   not  a  Catholic  paper  '^S 
a  few  weeks  ago  I  heard  a  well  known  cleric,  the 
samty  of  whose  judgm.nl  is  very  generally  recog' 
ni^ed.  state  his  deliberate  opinion  that  a^certefn 
famous  (or  notorious)  American  weekly  has  done 

fTtle\*  :  '^'h*  '7  ^T^''  *"  lessen'^reverence 
for  the  hierarchy,  to  undermine  ecclesiasUcal  au- 


1^ 


.    '•* 


1! 


■I  r 


ill 


70 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


thority,  and  wantonly  to  antagonize  respectaMe 
non-Catholics  than  any  other  one  agency  in  the 
country.  Yet  the  editor  of  the  weekly  in  ques- 
tion is  a  priest,  and  he  doubtless  fondly  imagines 
that  his  is  a  model  Catholic  paper. 

Now.  while  it  is  no  doubt  deplorable  that  there 
should  be  even  two  or  three  so-^^alled  Catholic 
papers  utterly  unworthy  of  that  name  and  of 
Catholic  support,  there  is  no  use  in  exaggerating 
the  evil  or  in  making  the  vices  of  the  exceptional 
few  a  pretext  for  ignoring  the  virtues  of  the  over- 
whelming majorihr.  As  a  rule,  our  papers  stand 
fairly  well  what  the  Rev.  Dr.  Heuser  once  stated 
to  be  the  essential  test  of  a  Catholic  journal: 
**orthodoxy  in  maiiers  of  faith,  an  elevated  and 
elevating  manner  of  treating  all  questions  that 
have  a  moral  aspect,  and  loyalty  to  legitimate  au- 
thority in  Church  and  State."  With  reasonable 
completeness  they  supply  what  Bishop  Hedley  de- 
clares should  make  up  the  contents  of  a  really 
Catholic  paper:  *'the  true  statement  of  all  pub- 
lic information  affecting  the  Church  and  the 
Catholic  religion;  the  Catholic  version  of  the  con- 
stantly recurring  'scandals,'  as  they  are  called, 
and  of  stories  tending  to  injure  Catholicism;  the 
prompt  contradiction  and  refutation  of  lies  and 
slanders;  comments  of  the  right  sort  on  the  do- 
ings of  politicians  and  on  current  history  and 
crime;  sound  and  religious  views  on  matters 
social,  industrial,  and  municipal;  and  the  con- 
stant prominence  of  distinctively  Catholic  topics. 
Besides  this,  we  should  have  general  literature 
and  art  treated  with  wisdom  and  with  due  re- 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PBE88  71 

Handled  with  reverence  and  knowledge." 

In  stating  that  our  papers  are  fairly  efficient 
with  respect  to  these  major  requirements  of  true 
Catholic  journalism.  I  have  no  desire  to  mint 

m^ke.L;  vat?  /^  T""'  -«**««-mechanical 
well  oZrIS  H  «*V"^*'''^"^-  *°P^^«^  timeliness, 
mfnw        M   departmente,  judicious  selection  of 

hea«  so""«:  ^^«*^*^*»'«°«"'  «^tc..  etc..  which  one 
censor,  nf?         ^«m™ented    upon    by    clerical 

Z Th^-  ?''*"Ji'.'""*~P°"*«"'  ^'^  cosmopoli- 
tan  penodicals.  These  defects  exist,  although 
not  perhaps  m  such  superabundance  as  the  hype? 
critical  censor  endeavors  to  make  out;  and  thev 

sTedeven  ^h"  ^^^^'^'^^^^  »>^  mat^riaUy  les' 
sened  even  if  the  present  editors  yielded  up  their 

ScTp  r  In  tis'""";  ^'^"^  *he'average"tt 
of  So  I  T"*^  "'^y  °°*  *»«  «°  exemplar 
of  perfect  journalism,  it  is  probably  conducted 

7olT''^-'f^^  "^°^^  «*>"^  *han  would,  tr 
could,  be  disp  ayed  in  the  editorial  sanctum  by 
the  average  pnest  who  condemns  it  as  "no  g^d /^ 
Such  condemnation  is  perhaps  at  bottom 
merely  an  effort  to  tranquilize  the  priesHy  eo^ 

orn"!  ^^'l*^  P'°*^^*'  ^^^^^''t  ««<^«rdota  negle"; 
of  duty  m  the  matter  of  worthily  supporting  the 
Cathohc  press.    That  there  i,  such  a  dSty  devolv! 

lew  1,!^^  ^  °^  no  question  whatever.  Un- 
S^s^  rS^  provincial  synods.  Catholic  con- 
gresses.   Roman    Congregations,  and    Sovereign 


i^ri 


I" 


n 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


kl 


Pontiffs  base  been  talking  at  random  and  coun- 
seling unadvisedly  for  the  past  balf-century,  Catb- 
olic  priests  and  Catbolic  people  under  modem  con- 
ditions are  bound  in  conscience  to  foster  Catholic 
journalism.    No  thoughtful  ecclesiastic  will  con- 
tradict the  statement  that  the  obligation  presses 
primarily  upon  the  clergy  rather  than  the  laity, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  this,  that  the  specific 
business  of  the  clergy  is  the  extension  of  God's 
work  and  the  furtherance  of  those  religious  ends 
which  the  apostolate  of  the  press  has  in  view.    It 
would  be  easy,  werfe  it  necessary,  to  fill  page  upon 
page  of  this' volume  with  wise  words  from  the 
greatest  churchmen  of  the  age  on  a  clerical  duty 
which  Leo  XIII  thus  formulated:    "Let  the  clergy 
foster  these  (Catholic)  journals  with  all  zeal,  and 
aid  them  with  their  learning;  and  wherever  they 
find  men  truly  Catholic  who  are  active  in  this 
work,  let  them  give  to  these  most  generous  sup- 
port and  favor." 

The  explanation  of  the  all  too  common  failure 
of  American  clerics  to  follow  this  advice  is  not  any 
doubt  of  its  abstract  justice  and  expediency,  but 
the  thoroughly  human,  if  reprehensible,  tendency 
to  shirk,  as  individuals,  obligations  which  are  ad- 
mittedly incumbent  upon  us  as  a  body.  The  para- 
mount need  of  the  times,  so  far  as  our  Catholic 
press  is  concerned,  is  perhaps  the  vivid  realiza- 
tion by  the  individual  priest— the  concrete  Father 
John,  or  Tom,  or  Maurice,  who  is  reading  these 
pages — that  to  him  personally  is  addressed  this 
other  papal  utterance:  "In  vain  will  you  build 
churches,  give  missions,  found  schools— all  your 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  PRESS  73 


efforts  will  be  futile  if  you  are  not  able  to  wield 
the  defensive  and  offensive  weapon  of  a  loyal  and 
wncerc  Catholic  press;"  and  that  for  all  practical 
purposes  "Catholic  press"  means  for  him.  pri- 
marily the  duly  authorized  and  accredited  paper 
of  his  diocese  or  archdiocese.    His  possible  con- 
tention  that  the  success  or  failure,  the  flourishlnii 
growth  or  gradual  decadence,  the  living  or  dying 
of  the  journal  io  .jt.o.tion  is  no  concern  of  his! 
none  of  his  business,  .>-  a  gross  iullacy,  the  very 
reverse   of   the    fcuth     The   aiaintcnance   of   a^ 
organ  for  the  diffusio.i  and  Ihe  defense  of  the  Cath- 
oac  truth,  as  for  the  f)'uuioiion  of  Catholic  in- 
terests generally,  emphatically  /,  in  some  degree 
his  business,  a  business  which  of  course  he  is  free 
to  neglect  but  not  without   forfeiting  his  clahr. 
o  the  Utle  of  an  enlightened,  zealous,  or  ev^. 
thoroughly  honest  priest  of  God 

nf  h^'T^'^l*  7j'"°««*^s8  fully  to  acquit  hims  '' 
of  his  duty  to  the  home  paper  which  has  the  fl.  l 
claim  upon  him  and  his  parishioners,  how  can  he 
accomplish  it?  By  earnest  and  persevering  en! 
deavors  as  an  individual  and  as  a  pastor,  to  en- 
hance  its  efficiency  and  increase  its  circulaUon 

U  wort  wh'   ''  ''"  .'"^*^"*^^  ^^^  ^»'  -«d  it.  -nd 
t  worth-whi  e  news  items,  "aid  it  with  his  learn- 

sketchLTn"^  ^^^  ''  (biographical  or  historical 

ettes.  book  reviews,  doctrinal  explanations   etc^ 
advertise  in  its  columns,  patronize  its  other  ad.* 
vertisers.  speak  well  of  it   to   personal   friends 
ay  an  occasional  word  of  kindly  encouragement' 
to  Its  editor,  and  pray  that  it  may  become  a  sS 


f 


S 

r 

> 


74 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


more  effective  agency  for  the  propagation  of  the 
faith,  the  defense  of  religious  truth,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  Christian  morality.  As  pastor  he  can 
instruct  his  people  in  season  and  out  of  sea^'^n 
on  the  absolute  necessity  of  their  taking  Catholic 
papers  as  the  only  practical  antidote  to  the  poison 
of  evil  literature  which  is  the  outstanding  dan- 
ger of  the  day;  he  can  advise  them  in  passably 
strong  terms  not  only  to  subscribe  and  pay  for, 
but  to  read,  the  paper  or  papers  approved  and 
encouraged  by  the  ordinary  of  the  diocese;  he 
can  promote  the  organization  of  clubs  of  sub- 
scribers; he  can  urge  the  needs  and  claims  of 
the  Catholic  press  upon  the  members  of  his  vari- 
ous societies;  he  can  mould  a  Catholic  public 
opinion  that  will  brand  as  un-Catholic  the  home 
that  does  not  receive  at  least  one  Catholic  paper; 
he  can  introduce  the  pape<  <  >to  his  school  or  at 
least  can  interest  his  school  children  in  its  con- 
tents; and  he  can  secure  the  prayers  of  both  chil- 
dren and  adults  for  God's  blessing  on  one  of  the 
most  conspicuously  important  Catholic  works  of 
our  time — the  religious  press. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  insist  on  the  point 
that,  in  the  case  of  generous,  energetic  priestly 
service  to  the  Catholic  paper,  virtue  is  emphatic- 
ally its  own  reward.  Should  the  selfish  consid- 
eration. What  is  there  in  it  for  me?  occur  to  the 
cleric  who  has  hitherto  been  ignobly  delinquent 
in  this  respect,  the  experience  of  all  pastors  who 
have  manifested  zeal  where  he  has  shown  indif- 
ference may  be  cited  to  assure  him  that  his  fol- 
lowing their  example  is,  even  on  selfish  grounds. 


THE  PBIEST  AND  THE  PEES8 


76 


fpintual  interests  of  his  people  at  heart  at  all  it 
ln^\^  "l  ""!'  ■■'  *"■  «•='  '""»  'he  Wei  much 

^erhaX  t*.lf '"■     '""'  "  <l«per'^U?,th"han 
pernaps  he  takes  account  of  in  Leo  XlII's  com 

prehensive    dictum:      "A    Catholic   paper   in    a 

fer  o?  Sirr '""' '",""°°"    '"  *^  ™««  mat! 
ter  of  givmg  his  people  religious  instrucUon  on 

many  a  point  which  he  never  touches,  and  in  in" 

terpretmg  for  them  the  mind  of  the  Church  on 

qu«t.ons  of  practical  and  Umely  inter^t,  H  ren" 

otter XsTeff","-  T"*"'  ""^  '"  "-«"<» 
m.il  Z^l  ,  ^"f^^ti^e'y  seconds  his  efforts  to 
make  h«,  fl<H.k  obedient  children  of  the  C™rch 

a'^d^^r.^"  ^'«'-^'''-«  »"  Ood-loving-rn 


na 


H 


< 

H 

r 


A  CLERIC'S  CORRESPONDENCE 


M 


1. 


II 


"Better  late  than  never"  is  not  half  so  good  a  maxim  a» 
"Better  never  late." — Anon. 

When  the  spirits  sink  too  low,  the  beet  cordial  is  to  read 
over  all  the  letters  of  one's  friendB.—Shentione. 

Let  your  letter  be  written  as  accurately  as  you  are  able — 
I  mean  as  to  language,  grammar,  and  stops;  but  as  to  the  mat- 
ter of  it  the  less  trouble  you  give  yourself  the  better  it  will  be. 
Letters  should  be  easy  knd  natural,  and  convey  to  the  persons  to 
whom  we  send  them  just  what  we  should  say  if  we  were  with 
them. — Chesterfield. 

IT  is  something  of  a  commonplace  among  the 
cultured  to  declare  that  one  of  the  arts  lost 
to  us  in  this  strenuous,  hurried,  nerve-racking 
twentieth  century  is  conversation,  the  wise,  cul- 
tivated, genial  conversation  which  Emerson 
styled  "the  last  flower  of  civilization,  and  the  best 
result  which  life  has  to  offer  us — a  cup  for  gods, 
which  has  no  repentance."  It  is  questionable, 
however,  whether  twentieth-century  bustle  and 
hurry  is  proving  as  fatal  to  the  art  of  conversa- 
tion as  to  its  oldtime  sister  or  cousin,  the  art  of 
letter-writing.  True,  post-offices  are  multiplying 
at  a  rapid  rate  throughout  the  land,  and  the  mail- 
bags  bulge  with  innumerous  envelopes,  sealed  and 
unsealed;  but  the  overwhelming  majority  of  their 
enclosures  have  to  do  with  the  sacrosanct  mod- 
em d'^ity.  business;  and  comparatively  few  of  the 
multituumous  pages  daily  carried  hither  and  yon 

76 


A  CLERIC'S  COBBESPONmKKrrE 


77 


e^^Ma^tfXX*!  -""  -*■"-'■*'-»•  - 
The  ubiquitous  postal  card  did  much  to  r^ 

in  other  days,  and  the  distance-annihilaline  M^ 
phone  has  still  further  hampered  tSllnterehanl" 
t^'JZfil  r\'r"^'^  oommunicaSThf 

calmer  made  IT  "  *'  "'^"'  "»  "^  *^'<=™"e 
bZle,,   nf  "'"""ng  round.    Business   is 

of  commu„ic»T*'  '""^  ""  "P"'"-''"^  ■"e'h"«l» 
cL,  ?i  °"  "■'=  immeasurably  more  effl- 

?  w  dl"ir"  **  """'"""*<'  contrivance^  of  a 

a.  a  wtLT •'  '"'  °""  "^^  "«"  "'  »"demned 
as  a  laudator  Itmpons  adi  if  he  breathes  an  ™. 
casioDal  sieh  for  the  o<v.^  nij  .•         ™'"'''  "°  <«- 
envelooe  in  .h„  ^  "■  '""e'  ^hen  a  bulky 

,il    SI       'he  morning  mail  proved  an  insoira- 
tion  and  ,  joy  for  the  livelong  day.    The  siK 
Jeed  may  be  superfluous,  since  both  the  ^i"; 

point  something  will  be  said   n.Z\  ^' 

therp  U  n«  ^       •         ,  ^"  ^  ^^*^r  paragranh. 


£ 


? 


ii 


if  4 


^m 


78 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


aome  find  it  necessary  to  indite  spiritual  epistles. 
Tlie  average  priest  of  tbe  land,  supposing  him 
to  be  a  worthy,  zealous  laborer  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord,  probably  finds  that  his  correspond- 
ence occupies  an  hour  or  two  a  day  on  most  days 
of  the  week.  Just  how  he  acquits  himself  of  his 
duties  in  this  respect  is  a  matter  about  which  it 
is  a  good  deal  easier  to  theorize  than  to  speak 
with  authority;  but  there  are  certain  truths  con- 
nected with  the  subject  which  young  priests  in 
particular  need  to  bear  in  mind  and  which,  ac- 
cordingly, it  may  be  worth  ^^ile  to  expound. 

And  first,  as  regards  business  letters,  it  is  of 
paramount  importance  that  they  be  answered 
promptly.  Not  «ily  is  it  the  part  of  a  gen- 
tleman to  ffvoid  occtfflioning  vexatious  delays 
to  others;  but  a  want  of  promptness  or  punctu- 
ality in  replying  to  business  communications 
is  almost  certain  to  result  in  annoyance,  not 
to  say  disaster,  to  one's  self.  As  Cecil  has 
well  said,  "Method  is  the  very  hinge  of  business; 
and  there  is  no  method  without  punctuality.** 
Dilatoriness  in  replying  to  letters  which  patently 
demand  a  speedy  answer  is  a  weakness  and  a 
fault  in  individual  cases,  and  in  the  course  of 
tim<>  becomes  a  habit  little  less  than  criminal  If 
half  the  priests  who,  three  or  four  decades  ago, 
copied  in  their  writing-books  "Procrastination  is 
the  thief  of  time*'  had  taken  that  lesson  to  heart, 
and  exemplified  from  the  outset  of  their  clerical 
careers  their  aversion  to  this  time-thief  in  the 
matter  of  their  letter-writing,  a  good  many  of 
us  would  have  fewer  mistakes  to  deplore,  fewer 


A  CLEHIC'S  COBBESPOWnByP., 


79 


mjuries  to  repair,  and  fewer  lowes  to  make  aood 
Who  ha8  not  known  a  dilatory  prie8t  who«  f^f ' 
u«  to  acknowledge  a  gift  ,o  7neotZ.c^Hlt 

male  thatUrK'",'*  '"   ""  "<"«»'»  decis™ 
bills   wfre  Z,?»^  ^  ^r'"/*""  before  their 

ea.,^  ;:narxij  eiropU" 

M  whirh  r"'  .1  '•"  -f  '^'"  »»»te  or  a  bSw- 

hetie^  st^f  1^""''  """•"<'•  «°  P""  Wm  by  un- 
needed  simply  because  his  habit  of  delavin«  ini 
to-morrow  what  nnithi  •„  u     j        """ymg  nil 

^-  ».™nge;'thannis\t„X  r^Lttg^ 
As  for  the  structure  or  comDosition  r.f  «  k     • 

abou.  rhtratt^oJi:  i":^:j:''/:^n'iT" 
^he  1^"  tubf'  '-'-^  -'  '!^e  •>- '-s%„: 

asa^p^Tb^^-^fmlrcrn'o^f^tr' 

rs-trenW'a^'rs^^^^^^^^ 

to  the  hterary  accomphshment  of  the  c  er  J  be 
H  said,  they  are  qualities  less  common  thfn  I 
ether  generally  supposed  or  at  all^rrable  A 
slovenly  style  is  much  more  likely  than  tt  to 


I 


t 
z 

< 

h 
5; 


pi 

I 


r 


80 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


characterize  the  letters  of  a  cleric  who  writes 
comparatively  little,  and,  excusable  as  such 
slovenliness  may  be  in  social  communications  to 
one's  friends,  it  is  condemnable  and  condemned 
in  business  documents.  Just  as  the  average  grad- 
uate of  the  high  school  might  proBtably  spend 
an  additional  term  in  mastering  the  difficulties  of 
English  orthography,  so  might  many  a  graiiuate 
of  the  seminary  advantageously  devote  hours  not 
a  few  to  the  prosaic  task  of  learning  how  to  con- 
struct with  thorough  propriety  an  English  sen- 

tence> 

Spiritual  letters,  properly  so  called,  are  per- 
haps the  least  frequent  epistles  written  by  the 
ordinary,  everyday  priest,  although  at  first  blush 
one  might  fancy  that  they  should  be  the  most 
common  of  all  his  writings.  The  othei-worldli- 
ness  so  consonant  to  his  priestly  character  does 
no  doubt  crop  out  from  Ume  to  time  even  m  his 
<?ayest  and  most  humorous  epistles  to  his  friends; 

ut  the  professedly  spiritual  letter  addressed  to 
a  penitent  or  a  spiritual  child,  and  devoted  to  an 
exposition  of  the  interior  life,  growth  in  holiness, 
and  spiritual  direction  generally,  is  probably  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule  in  clerical  cor- 
respondence. That  the  ordinary  pastor  or  curate 
might  well  do  a  great  deal  more  in  this  line  of 
sacerdotal  work  than  he  actually  accomplishes 
is  not  perhaps  an  extravagant  assertion;  but  it  is 
one  that  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  at  any  length 
in  the  present  essay. 

Given,  however,  that  a  priest  does  write  even 

occasional  letters  of   this  character,  it  may  be 


A  CLERIC'S  CORRESPONDENCE 


81 


worth  while  to  remind  him  that  some  knowledge 
of  ascetical  theology  is  essential  to  his  acquitting 

profit    If  ,t  be  urged  that  such  familiarity  with 
moral  and  dogmatic  theology  as  suffices  for  oral 
direction  in  the  confessional  may  well  be  enough 
for  written  direction  in  letters,  the  obvious  reply^ 
that,  even  for  direction  given  uiua  voce  to  a  peni- 
tent, a  certain  fund  of  asceUc  knowledge  is  rather 
indispensable  than  negligible.    Since  ascetic  theol- 
offlr  IS  the  science  and  art  of  leading  a  holy  life,  and 
since  the  confessor  is  safe  to  have  among  his  peni- 
tents some  at  least  who  come  to  him  more  for 
help  and  counsel  in  leading  such  a  life  than  for 
he  primary  object  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  it  seems  reasonable  to  de- 
mand of  him  at  the  very  least  an  acquaintance 
with  the  general  principles  of  ascetics  and  a  good 

plying  those  principles  in  actual  practice.  Most 
priests  presumably  have  In  their  libraries  some 
or  al  of  the  following  works,  the  study  of  wS 
will  furnish  them  with  adequate  knowledge  for 
SaL'w  T"^ '1"^'   °^   ^'^<^^^^^'     St.  Francis  of 

Combat  Letters  to  Persons  in  Religion,  and  to 
Persons  in  the  World;  Roderiguez'  Christian  Per- 
fection the  Spiritual  Exercises  of  St.  Ignatius- 
the  Imitation;  St.  Teresa's  Way  of  Perfection  Z 
her  Life  and  Letters;  Scaramelli's  Ascetical  ot 
rectory  and  Faber's  Growth  in  Holiness 

It  IS  pertinent  to  remark  Uiat  the  mere  using 


til 


1  I 


s.     is  I 


I  ' 


J     ; 


i»l 


I! 

II 


82 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


of  the  foregoing  books  as  spiritual  reading  does 
not  constitute  the  work  recommended  to  him  who 
would  require  some  knowledge  of  ascetical  the^ 
ology:  they  should  be  studied  as  scientific  trea- 
tises to  be  mastered  by  the  intellect,  not  perused 
as  devotional  works  to  warm  the  heart  and  per- 
suade the  will.  Of  Growth  in  Holiness,  indeed. 
Dr.  Scunnell  shrewdly  remarks:  "As  a  book  for 
spiritual  reading,  it  is  most  disheartening;  as  a 
manual  of  ascetical  theology,  it  is  unsurpassed." 
It  may  be  consoling  to  some  readers  to  learn  that 
Faber  himself  found  St.  John  of  the  Cross  to  be  so 
far  beyond  him  that  he  could  not  get  much  good 
out  of  that  great  mystic's  works.  And  it  would 
be  superfluous  to  add  that  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  Life  of  Our  Lord  and  the  writings  of  St. 
Thomas  would  constitute  a  fairly  adequate  sub- 
stitute for  all  the  volumes  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph. 

Many  a  priest,  it  is  quite  possible,  may  fail  to 
see  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs  any  thing  that 
particularly  concerns  himself.  Not  a  few  parish 
priests  of  small  towns  or  villages,  and  a  larger 
number  of  strictly  rural  pastors  may  conceivably 
comment  on  what  has  thus  far  been  said:  "Oh, 
well;  all  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  me.  My 
business  letters  are  of  the  rarest,  and  as  for  the 
spiritual  variety,  I  have  neither  the  ability  nor 
the  occasion  to  indite  epistles  of  Ihat  sort." 
Granting  that  this  comment  contains  a  good  deal 
more  of  truth  than  in  all  probability  is  really  the 
case,  it  does  not  at  all  follow  that  letter-writing 
is  a  purely  academic  rather  than  a  practical  ques- 


A  CLERIC'S  CORBESPOWnBMny. 


agine  any  priest  so  circumstanced  that  he  U  f~l 

Sr  °^^*^"«  the   third  class  of  letto^ 
whch  we  have  spoken.-social  or  friendly^n^ 

o  ouu  Villages  or  m  the  countrv  di<itri/>»a  tu^- 
on  other,  because,  a8  a  rule,  they  have  favf^,^ 
greater  amount  of  leisure  to  devote  thereto  and 

■"no.  a  ptas'uT   'kT""'"]'  "''  "  ^''"=''  " 
.till  alive   fhrnri.  «        *  "  ^"*"  <"■  ■no*"  « 

oldfnt,  ".t"'  ''""•  ^"^^^^  U"  hearts  of  th" 
S pnt^rtTnaTw  °i  LttSr^  ZT^ 

{^rSiJSrr^er^-Sr^f:; 

one's  father  or  mother  when  ftey  are  frr  3" 

A  h-tl'e-m-ot  tlToXVnr  aTd  T^  ^~ 
*is  point  on  .he%irra''«^7:^n:H«" 


84 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


II  H 


"'/i      ' 

f  i 


would  notably  increase  the  happiness  of  their 
parents  while  still  here  below,  and  save  them- 
selves considerable  unavailing  regret  or  remorse 
when  God  at  length  calls  those  parents  home. 
And  what  is  true  in  the  case  of  father  and  mother 
is  in  a  measure  also  true  of  a  priest's  brothers  and 
sisters  and  other  near  relatives.  All  these  have 
a  quasi-right  to  hear  from  the  Father  John,  or 
Edward,  or  Maurice  who  has  long  been  the  ob- 
ject of  their  care  and  prayer  and  love  and  pride. 

Another  species  of  social  letter  which  a  gen- 
tleman of  culture,  such  as  his  profession  supposes 
a  priest  to  be,  cannot  well  forego  writing  is  the 
occasional  epistle, — of  congratulation,  condolence, 
etc.  There  is  a  whole  apostolate  of  kindly  service 
embodied  in  the  judicious  penning  of  such  letters; 
and  the  occasions  which  juLiify  them  arc  far  more 
numerous  perhaps  than  we  are  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge. "Two  in  distress  make  sorrow  less," 
says  the  proverb,  and  no  one  who  has  had  his 
own  grief  assuaged  and  lessened  by  a  sympathetic 
message  from  friend  or  acquaintance  can  doubt 
that  the  inditing  of  such  missives  is  eminently 
worth  while,  or  that  the  comfort  they  give  more 
than  repays  the  trouble  they  cost.  So,  too,  with 
letters  of  congratulation.  We  are  assured  by  Dr. 
Johnson  that  "the  applause  of  a  single  human 
being  is  of  great  consequence,"  and  when  the  hu- 
man being  is  a  priest  the  applause  does  not  as- 
suredly lose  anything  of  its  magnitude.  A  few 
words  of  kindly  felicitation  penned  to  a  friend, 
an  acquaintance,  or  even  a  stranger,  who  has  done 
something  exceptionally   good, — how  inconsider- 


A  CLERIC'S  CORRii!flPnvT.p,T.Trr 


86 


^i^.f^'f  ff^'*."'^^'  °*^^«"°»  «h«  writer,  yet  how 

favor  of  giving  prai.e  where  prai.e  »  due  The 
ultra-cautious  .piril  that  refrain,  from  expressing 
approval  of  another's  achievement,  or  e?prr«ef 

forsooth  the  achiever's  vanity  may  be  .ct  ablaze 

rehen.*iht"""-  -I  '''""'  "'  "•<=«'"<'mania.  h  a  rep! 
rehensib  e  spint,  not  a  commendable  one     E, 

Z™""  ""'"  "P"'-  "  ''  »"'«  '"  «»»ume  thai 
^IT"  rKr""'  "'"•  •'«»  'he  abiJily  to  do  any 

For  eve,y  gilly  h„d  by  pU„diu  turned, 

There  p™  .  hundred  hearts  for  prai«  „e||  .>„«,. 

In  good  sooth,  the  failure  to  give  neneron,   ..„ 
quabfled  approbaUon  to  those  who  dese^e  it  i^ 
due  not  infrequently  to  the  miserable  and  ^on 
temptible  passion  of  envy  or  jealousy,  loudly  a, 

p«acher  or  writer,  his  popularity  as  a  confessor 
hi.  effectiveness  as  a  convert-maker  etc  Zv 
render  h  m  proud  and  prove  his  ulUmateuZ^ 
ing;  but  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  go  toThe  roo, tf" 


•waocorr  rbowtion  tbt  chart 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


A    ^'PPLIED  IfVMGE 


1653  EqjI  Moin  Str«t 

RochMler    n«»  York        14609       US* 

(716)  482  -  0300  -  Phon* 

(716)  288- 5989 -Fa» 


it  t 


'  ■;»■: 


86 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


our  "damning  with  faint  praise,"  and  see  whether 
it  is  not  the  base  envy  which 

withers  at  another's  joy 
And  hates  that  excellence  it  cannot  reach. 

One  of  the  most  gratifying  letters  which  the  pres- 
ent writer  has  ever  received  came  to  him  a  good 
many  years  ago  from  a  total  stranger  who  won 
my  lasting  gratitude  by  telling  me  of  five  or  six 
conversions  which,  to  his  personal  knowledge,  had 
been  brought  about  by  an  article  of  mine,  on  Our 
Lady,  contributed  to  the  Ave  Maria.  And  such 
swelling  as  I  experienced  on  reading  the  kindly 
epistle  was  entirely  of  the  heart,  not  the  head. 

"Occasional"  letters  may  be  sent  quite  congru- 
ously to  mere  acquaintances,  or  even,  as  in  tiie 
case  just  mentioned,  to  strangers,  but  most  social 
epistles  are  of  course  exchanged  between  friends, 
in  the  specific  sense  of  that  word, — those  who  en- 
tertain for  each  other  feelings  of  personal  regard 
and  preference.      Does  the  average  priest  write 
a  sufficient  number  of  these  friendly  missives? 
Does  he  practice  the  kindness  involved  therein 
as  often  as  he  reasonably  can  and  should?    That 
he  has  friends  enough  among  his  brother-clerics 
is  abundantly  clear  at  the  time  of  his  annual  or 
biennial  retreat.   The  commonest  of  excuses  made 
at  that  period  for  the  breaking  of  the  silence  rec- 
ommended by  the  retreat-master  and  the  bishop 
is:     "Well,  you  know;  the  fellows  haven't  seen 
one  another  for  so  long  that  they  naturally  want 
to  have  a  chat."    And  how  many  of  them  have 
employed,  since  their  previous  meeting,  the  best 


A  CLERIC'S  CORRESPONDENCE  87 


possible  substitute  for  a  chat.— the  friendly,  free- 
and-easy,  genial  letter?  It  is  quite  possible  that 
a  sensible  increase  of  clerical  inter-correspond- 
ence during  the  year  would  promote  a  better 
observance  of  at  least  "the  grand  silence"  during 
the  retreat-period. 

No  priest  who  seriously  reflects  on  the  com- 
fort and  consolation  and  encouragement,  on  the 
hvely  satisfacUon,  the  sensible  pleasure,  the  gen- 
ume  delight  that  have  sometimes,  if  not  often, 
come  to  himself  personally  through  timely  let- 
ters from  friendly  correspondents  can  fail  to  ac- 
knowledge that  a  genial   letter  may  weU   rank 
among  the  most  kindly  of  acts.    Who  has  Eot,  at 
least  occasionally,  discovered  that  a  few  Iright, 
chatty  pages  from  a  distant  friend  are  a  more 
sovereign  cure  for  drooping  spirits,  sickness  of 
heart,  and  weariness  of  brain  than  are  all  the  rem- 
edies to  be  found  in  the  doctor's  prescription  book 
or  on  the  druggist's  shelves?    Who  has  not  been 
spun-ed  at  times  to  renewed  energy,  confirmed  in 
good  and  noble  purposes,  or  stimulated  to  Uie  per- 
formance of  arduous  duty  by  merely  a  dozen  lines 
of  intelligent  approval  from  a  sympathetic  well- 
wisher?      Yes;  social  letters  afford  an  excellent 
means  for  exercising  kindness,  and  kindness  is  a 
quahty  pre-eminenUy  fitting  in  the  priest  who  fol- 
lows, at  however  great  a  distance,  the  model  Hich 
Priest  who  "went  about  doing  good." 

Of  the  excuses  generally  given  for  failing  to 
wnte  to  friends  perhaps  the  most  common,  as  well 
as  tiie  most  flimsy,  is  that  one  "has  no  time " 
Very  many  who  aUege  that  reason  have  doubtiess 


I 

G 

r 


r 


88 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


j. 


iO 


persuaded  themselves  that  it  is  true;  but  the  in- 
stances in  which  it  really  is  true  are  probably  far 
less  numerous  than  is  generally  believed.  Of  the 
eighteen  thousand  priests  resident  in  these  United 
States,  are  there  eighteen  hundred,  or  a  hundred 
and  eighty,  or  even  eighteen  who  in  downright 
earnestness  can  truthfully  affirm  that  they  are  so 
habitually  busy  with  more  important  matters  that 
a  monthly  letter  to  an  intimate  friend  is  quite  im- 
practicable? Is  it  not  a  matter  both  of  personal 
record  and  of  general  experience  that  the  busiest 
of  men  have  the  most  leisure?  It  is  altogether 
doubtful  that  the  ordinary  priest  of  our  day  and 
country  is  as  gen^uinely  busy,  now  that  he  is  "on 
the  mission,"  as  he  was  throughout  his  college  and 
seminary  days.  If  he  found  ample  time,  as  a  stu- 
dent, for  letter-writing,  and  cannot  apparently 
find  it  now,  may  not  the  real  explanation  be  that, 
as  a  student  and  a  seminarian,  his  hours  and  their 
employment  were  regulated  by  intelligent  system, 
and  that  at  present  they  are  subject  to  haphazard 
and  unmethodical  whims  and  caprices?  One 
cleric  in  a  hundred  is  possibly  as  overworked  as 
all  the  hundred  profess  to  be;  but  if  half  the 
energy  wasted  in  killing  time  were  devoted  to 
utilizing  it,  the  average  cleric  would  discover 
abundant  leisure  for  much  more  extensive  cor- 
respondence than  he  conducts  at  present. 

A  less  frequent  excuse  for  abstention  from  let- 
ter-writing, and  one  fully  as  hollow  as  the  fore- 
going, is  inability,— "I  can't  write  a  letter."  In 
the  mouth  of  a  professional  man  such  an  assertion 
is  little  less  than  absurd.    Given  the  ability  to 


i_5!!55I£;L52^RESPONDENCE 


89 


friends  a,  n  stare""  T  "'"'"•  '''"^''''  •"» 
son  cannot  trite  „  I'  -i  "'''''°'"'  """  "  P''- 
'ered  a.,  Li:X:iXLZ\r.Zt  a'nd  S" 

by  people'^  Xt-ZSTh  "™-'™7  ""^ 
unity,  mass   «nH  Jk  **^^  principles  of 

sition  Td  who  wouT"  ''  f  PP"^'  *°  ^^"'P- 
work  under  the  TZ       f^''^^^^  recognize   their 

ence.  NoT  tnat  we  Ui^'d:*'^'^  ^^^^^P^"^" 
tention  to  orthoJanr  ill  '"^  reasonable  at- 
requisite  to  theTritinl' Jl/i  T  ^"^  °»her 
certainly  have  thl^  J^^        ^^^"^  ^°«^^«^-     These 

piece  o?  Xo3i  oS^^^^^  a^TttTr  "hef^^n^ 
closest  friends       Im„.^    f  .        '  between   the 

requisites  does  no  T»'  """"^'^dg^   of  such 

reason  for  v^thhoUi„»7.      "■•  '°f """«'  «  ™«<' 

aoularlcindr^sof  w^?h  raT  '"%"'"  '"'  P^ 
deus  Stevens  may  h*  ve  be     '^f.  .P/!,'".'"^-    ^had- 

to  recommend  an  appUca  ,1"?  '"  """'"« 
Point  because,  as  he  put  »" 41  fj"'*  "'  ^*" 
appointment  to  any  bfasted  fi,.  i! "  ""'  *™  "» 
with  two  Il-s  and  "Uir  v^th  „t  ••  W  '""  '  '""'''' 
no  doubt  received  in  o«r  li^r  I"*  '""^'^  «" 

Which  it  wea^iltrd^fio-r^d/ress't' 


hi 


90 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


it  ii 


t    . 


are  intolerable  snobs,  the  variation  aff«>'**ed  us 
but  lightly,  if  at  all.  Literary  excellence  is  good 
thing  in  any  piece  of  composition;  some  degree  of 
it  may  be  considered  practically  essential  in  busi- 
ness letters  and  printed  correspondence;  but  the 
man  or  woman  who  does  not  prize  beyond  all 
graces  of  style  the  true  kindness,  sincerity,  sym- 
pathy, and  affection  embodied  in  a  genuine  let- 
ter of  friendship  has  surely  distorted  the  relative 
values  of  foi>  and  substance,  and  doesn't  deserve 
to  receive  anything  more  closely  resembling  a  real 
letter  than  the  stilted  treatises  in  miniature  which, 
a  few  centuries  ago,  authors  used  to  indite,  not 
for  private  perusAl,  but  for  the  public  press. 

The  universality  of  the  liking  for  letters,  and 
the  very  common  neglect  to  write  as  many  of 
them  as  is  desirable  were  made  evident  to  the 
author  about  a  decade  ago  by  the  vogue  enjoyed 
by  a  little  rondel  of  his  that  went  the  rounds  of 
the  press,  often  eaou^  without  tiie  credit  which 
is  herewith  properly  assigned  to  if: 

Could  absent  friends  but  know 

What  joy  their  letters  bring, 

How  like  a  breath  of  spiing 
They  set  our  hearts  aglow, 
They'd  write  more  oft,  I  trow, 

And  give  their  pens  full  swing, — 
Could  absent  friends  but  know 

What  joy  their  letters  bring. 

Time's  stream  would  smoother  flow, 
Our  little  griefs  take  wing, 
And  great  ones  lose  their  sting,— 

All  life  would  gladder  grow, 

Could  absent  friends  but  know 
What  joy  their  letters  bring. 


A  CLEBIC'S   COHBEaPnTsmi;.vnp, 


91 


power,  and,  despite  hi,  prit«.  ,h.  ,i  """  ""^ 
to  gladden  or  m.mf„T..  P""*"-  *«  lime  as  well, 
frieSd  by  a  uLT^rtl    r  ?«°""8«  «"  absent 

'ere,ung'^jis,ii7rw,'''::r"^'?''«--.-- 

assurances  of  continued  rL?T""  '"I-Wm. 
teem,  and  all  those  UWe  "'?f"'''™''«»  and  es- 

to  o.he„  so  incak"laW;^o«r„'i"'  "'  "»'"■ 
selves.  Don-t  postpone  the  ki^t  7  ?"  °"'- 
book;  and  si.  ^^Tont\^':^'^^  ^Z  5X.""' 


■I 


K 

rn 


i  1 


I 


VI 
CLERICAL  WIT  AND  HUMOR 

A  joyful  mind  maketh  age  flourishing;  a  sorrowful  spirit 
drieth  up  the  bones. — Proverbi :  xvii,  tt. 

Wit  loses  its  respect  with  the  good  when  it  is  seen  in  com- 
pany with  malice;  and  to  smile  at  the  jest  which  places  a  thorn 
m  another's  breast  is  to  become  a  principal  in  the  mischief. — 
Sheridan. 

As  the  non-humorous  and  unwitty  constitute  the  overwholra- 
ing  majority,  they  have  succeeded,  partially  at  least,  by  dint  of 
ceaseless  iteration,  in  propagating  the  idea  that  mental  dry- 
ness is  indicative  of  wisdom  and  that  a  wit  or  humorist  is  lack- 
in;'  in  the  substantial  qualities  of  mind — all  of  which  is  mere 
moonshine.— -Ckoflip  Clarlc. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  the  word  "wit"  was  uni- 
versally accepted  as  being  identical  in 
meaning  with  wisdom;  nowadays,  in  the  vocabu- 
lary of  many  a  peremptory  sobersides,  it  figures 
as  a  synonym  for  wisdom's  absence,  folly.  When 
Swift  wrote 

'Tis  an  old  maxim  in  the  schools 
That  flattery's  the  food  of  fools, 
Yet  now  and  then  your  men  of  wit 
Will  condescend  to  take  a  bit,— 

he  evidently  used  the  word  to  signify  knowledge, 
sagacity,  intelligence,  judgment,  good  sense;  while 
these  very  lines  of  his  furnish  an  example  of  that 
intellectual  dexterity  for  which  in  modem  usage 
the  word  has  come  to  stand.  Not  that  the  original 
meaning  of  the  term  is  even  now  obsolete  in  either 
the  singular  or  the  plural  form,  as  is  clear  from 

92 


.£Il!2i5^LWlTAND  HUMOR 


93 
!ote'1r-,t  '~"'r'.  "'••   "'"'  •■«»  not  the  wit 

.^ea.'°:H?:h^TaCXL'"=':lr  '''V" 
nmusemeni;  and  "a  wii"  i.  u     •"    ^'Pe^aUy 

quality,  or  often.  «  o„e  „°r,h?''l ''°"''""  "■'' 
puis  it,  "a  person  whn  h.        ■        '^^'eoSraphers 

the  incongrSoror tdie™„:  a„7  """P"""  "' 
amusement  and  freonlnM  "'"'"»"  "  for  tlie 
otliers."  frequently    at  Uie   expense   of 

flnd.  or  thTfac„rnf  «"!.'"''=  '.""  ""'P^iUon  to 

or  suggestions!  ,o,„i,o""?^f  '""'T'"  "'P"" 
has  been  graphicairXZ/f     *"■  "°"''"'-      Wit 

and  PerhapsTgood  :„  n,;iT""  "*"""«• 
given  of  tl,e  relatCship  ^^  ™be°aV?  T  "^ 
«  to  say  that  hrjmor  is  the  elee  ri„f ", '°  ''""«"• 
and  wit  the  flash     "h,        electrical  atmosphere 

dulges  in  breath  of  rf^n""""'  '"y»  Landor" "in- 
and'briUian;;"*  ^li^r  l^.^'her  '"an  in  play 

humor  spring^  upSeram^^'TroA  ??  '"t'^' 
and  runs  on."  The  n.,.rf»-  i!  ^  /  "  "  fountain 
ant  evening  w  ha  part^  „",%°-"" '-"*""' P'eas- 
«everal  honors  in  a^eS  I'^Z'L^lrT' 
change  of  st>ries  and  drolleries^.,  h  '".'"■ 

merriment  and  hilaritv  hJ.  Ji  .  ''""'e  excited 

a  word  the  genial  at^spt^oTZ'''^  '"'^""' '" 
yet.  when  called  upon  the  n«fdi.°"T°''=  «'"' 
Of  Oie  mirth-pro/o^^-rd'ent  1.^1:^^^ 


If 


,!i:L,_ 


94 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I  ! 


able  to  specify  anything  in  particular.  In  such  a 
case,  the  evening  was  probably  a  humorous  rather 
than  a  witty  one.  If,  on  the  contrary,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  you  button-holed  a  friend,  and,  in- 
forming him  that  "So-and-so  said  a  very  good 
thing  last  night,"  proceeded  to  repeat  the  saying, 
it  is  safe  to  afllrm  that  t'  ough  the  circumamhieFt 
atmosphere  of  congenial  humor  there  flash  oc- 
casionally the  shooting-stars  of  wit. 

Another  distinction  between  the  two  qualities 
is  that  wit  is  purely  intellectual,  while  humo^  may 
be  expressed  by.  a  smile,  a  grimace,  or  an  attitude. 
The  fun  of  a  humorous  story,  for  instance,  may 
consist  principally,  or  even  wholly,  in  mimicry, 
in  reproducing  'lie  peculiarities  of  tone,  accent, 
emphasis,  gesture,  or  general  action  of  an  eccen- 
tric chiirfacter;  while  a  witty  story  or  sally  de- 
pends not  at  all  on  such  accessories:  it$  whole 
value  lies  in  the  thought,  and  the  brilliancy  of 
its  point  is  only  slightly  affected  by  the  presence 
or  absence  of  histrionic  ability^  in  the  narrator. 
Humor  may  be  coexistent,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
with  the  gentlest  and  deepest  pathos;  and  is  in- 
deed sr  generally  kindly  that  Thackeray  ubcd  to 
call  it  a  mixture  of  love  and  wit 

Having  thus  deflrir!  our  terms,  snd  so  elim- 
inated one  common  ^ource  of  misunderstanding 
and  futile  disputation,  let  us  see  what  is  the  con- 
gruous attitude  of  clerics  towards  thef.e  condi- 
ments of  human  intercourse.  It  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  remark  that  wit  and  humor  are  in 
themselves  indifferent,  unmoral.  They  are  not 
tabooed,    debarred,    condemned,    or    forbidden, 


■ — ""•" wo 

"Xf^Hi^'cS'sfr  ;•  "IP"""-  •»  "•••  p- 

">«  great  and  goid  of  .u  ...'1'"'*  """"on"  <"' 
«"«  that  haf  ^^VaM*.!?'/?;,"'*  """'""n 
djwn  of  creation  d™„  •"„,•,!"  "'  "?*  '"""  ">» 
Were  ii  worth  wWIl.  ?„  w         '"e..  'eth  century 

Walo.Ari.toUe.  St  Thoma,*";"""  •"'<""  O""^' 
I«»«c  Barrow,  and  a  h«?  of  „.h  ^"'"f" '  ^"™'". 
'aud  wit  and  humor  in  no  [un^'f  celebritie,  who 
•hem  under  .uch  nam«  a.  , '"'•*""••  P"'"-* 
drolleiy.  gaiety,  amenii^  „,  i*''*'""»»«»».  easy 

a  <la.h  of  irony,  aood  h.^^    ^'  Po^'^new  with 
««h«;heartedn4*har«Ier'";"'!''«!:"'''«""-q«ie^ 

a"^;i£i-r^rs?e:» 

a?ceUd.m  w^uTd  ."k^lf  ,.f--a«ci.m  or  morlid 
P«J.  he  «dd..  i,  ch'erfu^^e,,  5'  '"*"'  »'  »™e 
fand.  of  taints  whom  (hi  ri'  \"°°8  *«  'hou- 
her  altara,  not  one  TwhL  ""J'  ^^  'aised  to 
»■•"  canonized  for  hivS,"„™  "?*  ""y  "cord 
a  matter  of  fact.  U,ere  " t,  Z,,"  '°"«  ''«•  A, 
genuine  wit  in  the  Frelh  *,  ''""'*'  'CMe  as 

f»f  un  triste  saint"  whfrh     ^.'"''  ^'°  «ainl  tri  ?e 


"I"    4 1 
X    'I 

t 


96 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I 


■U 


f- 


i' 


If  ^ 


the  writinf(8  of  many  of  the  most  famous  saints 
testify  to  their  advocacy  and  their  rational  enjoy- 
ment of  genuine  wit  and  humor.  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi  and  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  St.  Philip  Neri  and 
St.  Joseph  of  Cupertino,  St.  Anselm  of  Canterbury 
and  St.  Felix  of  Cantilice,  St.  Bernardine  of 
Siena  and  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and  (quite  as 
a  matter  of  course)  the  Irish  pair.  Saints  Columba 
and  Brendan,  were  all  fond  of  jocular  allusions 
and  humorous  sallies.  St.  Laurent,  while  he  lay 
in  torture  on  his  gridiron  over  a  slow  fire,  play- 
fully said  to  his  executioner:  "I'm  roasted 
enough  on  one  side;  turn  me  over."  St.  James 
Intercisus,  when  his  fingers  and  toes  were  cut  olT 
by  his  tormentors,  said  to  them  with  a  smile: 
"Now  that  the  boughs  are  cropped,  cut  down  the 
trunk;"  and  Blessed  Thomas  More,  on  the  point 
of  being  beheaded,  bade  the  executioner  wait  till 
he  drew  aside  his  beard,  jokingly  remarking: 
"That  hasn't  committed  treason,  anyway." 

If  still  higher  authority  than  the  saints  be  de- 
manded for  the  legitimacy  of  wit  and  humor,  one 
may  appeal  even  to  Holy  Writ.  Ecclesiastes  ps- 
sures  us  that  there  is  "a  time  to  weep  and  a  time 
to  laugli."  Proverbs  declares  that  "A  glad  heart 
maketh  a  cheerful  countenance;"  Psalm  Ixvii. 
tells  us,  "Let  the  just  feast,  and  rejoice  before 
God:  and  be  delighted  with  gladness;"  and  St. 
Paul  gives  the  Philippians  the  comprehensive  ad- 
vice, "Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always;  again,  I  say,  re- 
joice." For  that  matter,  the  Bible  itself  contains 
more  than  one  concrete  instance  of  indubitable 
wit.      To   cite   only    two    examples,    take   Job's 


you."  and  Eli„.'l,~S'',  •»*'"'"'"  *'"  *«  *"'■ 
*ilh  a  /ouder  voice  /o°  i''^P"«"«  <>'  Baal:   "Ci, 

•>«  i.  talking  ortTn  °^  il'*  "  ''"'^  »'«'  P"rl'api 
Perhap,  he  fa  a.leVp  and  ™?  Tu""  "  J°''™«y:  of 
now,  after  the  forego?n»  h.k  '  ""f  ""^  ^•"  And 
«he  innocency  of  wf°a„rt  i  '"'*  "'"ai^aUon  of 
•ome  cru,ty  readl     ..     '"""'"'•  "  "•ere  be  .till 

Chri.Uan,l^r^fea.,Tnc°:r'''=™"»  """•  «»  "»- 

™«y  be  pardoned  for  .rvi3T  '"  "  P''"".  one 
Dr.  Johnson   once  ..m    ,*'*"'"  *''«'8n'ff  old 
ponent:    "Sir.  I  have  fiid  "    '"'"'-''"•'ed  op- 
am  not  obliged  to  find  you  ^^  ^a  '"  «'»""enl:  I 
.     «  i.  <n,e  of  .our.e'^Ztuke   "''■''*"«•■■ 
•o  «ay  all  other  good  thin«      •!  """"''  ""'«'••  "ol 
"■ore  eapecially  Uie  for^*^  *"  "'"'  '"""or.  and 
f»<i  that  cleric^,  XlXtaT  '"""•  •»  '^"»"; 
■".peachable  authoriW  wWeh      "  "**"  <="«  ""■ 
•atea  even  their  uae     Thl  r    ;"PP?"""y  deprc- 
'".tance   a»„re,  urth^'    ^.to\^'  P"verb,.  for 
words  there  .hall  no    wanl  1    u*  """«l"<ie  of 
fraineth  hi.  Up.  fa  mosT  ^,e  r^^"'  "'.that  re- 
tha   keepeth  hi.  mouth  kw^!',,,  t"**  *«°'"  =   "Ke 
that  hath  no  guard  nn  k-      '^"'  '"»  «oul;  but  he 
evih."    Y„  f^u'^Zh^  ri'^'"  """'  meet  wift 
^'erie  Who  proffer. teh,«fa"^""=f  ""'  P""* 
aga.n,t  witty  „,  humorou   .neeo^"  J*  ""-S-me"'' 
low  them  up  with  thfa  other,.  •*""  "«  '»  'ol- 
quite  a.  pertinent  to  Sie  .uh.vT"*-^'  P™""*". 
tf  he  will  hold  hi.  peace  .^''nt     ^^"'  »  W 
""-•  "he  cloae  hi.  lip,  am.      ,*"  ''°''"'«''  «>« 
»"P».amanofmider.tanding" 


and 


I 


'!i| 


ml 


98 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I 


It  is   quite   conceivable   indeed   that   the   ultra- 
serious   Rector   of    a   Seminary,   counseling   his 
fourth-year  students  as  to  their  post-ordination 
deportment,  should  give  them  the  advice  which 
Governor  Corwin  once  gave  to  the  members  of 
his  law-class:    "Young  men,  if  you  desire  a  repu- 
tation for  wisdom,  never  joke;  be  as  solemn  as  an 
ass;"   but  it  is   inconceivable   that   the  average 
young   American    ecclesiastic,   of   normal   level- 
headedness, should  act  upon  the  advice,  or  look 
upon  it  as  other  than  as  a  pretty  good  joke  in  itself. 
It  has  been  said  above  that,  of  the  two  quali- 
ties, wit  is  perhaps  the  more  likely  to  be  abused. 
As  a  matter  of  historical  record,  and  of  everyday 
experience  as  well,  the  brilliant  wit,  lay  or  clerical, 
is  far  more   liable   than   his   merely  humorous 
brother  to  inflict  unnecessary  pain,  to  provoke 
anger  and   resentment,  and  to  become  guilty  of 
sundry  other  sins  against  charity,  even  supposing 
that  he  avoids,  as  he  occasionally  does  not,  of- 
fenses against  justice.    It  requires  no  slight  de- 
gree of  holiness  as  well  as  gentlemanliness  to  re- 
frain from  uttering  a  witty  retort  that  would  sure- 
ly  discomfit   an   opponent   and   delight   the   by- 
standers; and  it  is  probable  that  most  readers  of 
this  essay  can  count  among  their  clerical  friends 
and  acquaintances  more  wits  than  saints.      Tom 
Moore  was  very  likely  guilty  of  considerable,  if 
excusable,   exaggeration   when,   after   Sheridan's 
death,  he  wrote  of  his  friend  as  one 

Whose  wit  in  the  combat  as  gentle  as  bright 
Ne'er  carried  a  heart-stain  away  on  its  blade,— 

and,  in  any  case,  it  is  worth  while  for  everybody 


CLERICAL  -fflT  AND  HUMOR 


99 


whom  God  has  endowed  with  intellectual  keen 
ratStrulTor  "-'•f —><••»  did/   -The 
fte  mart  "    Wh"  T"'""?""*  ""  '»  ">  8°  beyond 

i.^Xa.e:^1  r/  'ure^:\r-erpt- 

century:  Harrow   in    the   seventeenth 

lighl^iVthH&Tt'^b^^rod^^^  ^^^"  "  «"- 
jocular  exprSn^  when*?f  lr°'^  conveved  in 
rehcion   char^   «;/,•  ^-  *  *°f"nges  neither  on 

it  nfaimains  iS;d  huiinr''^  "°/  °"  P^«^^'  ^^en 
and  make^hf^ndearren^,  nft*^'^^ 

vating;  when'it  ex^os^s  wLt  is  vn?^a^^^^ 
contempt;  when  it  rerlaim«  ♦>!    •  •      ^°^  ^"^e  to 

them  into  virtue-  whin  W  ***^  '''"°"?  »"*^  laughs 
^SSS&n5"i  i|rV«'  -»  " 

hT„"n^Mre=Bp3!  {raf  ? 
season,  or  to  a  dangerous  end.  '*''* 

The  foregoing  field  for  wifs  legitimate  acUvi- 
hes  „  surely  ample  enough  to  safefy  even  STe 
who  are  most  abundanUy  provided  there^S.  and 

tia   n'»v  h"  '"  '"■r  """  "»  ""»  «e^  many 
•hat  It  may  be  exercised  quite  sufficiently  in  Der 

lus'grSLT'  rr"'  "^'"s  -"--d :,":; 

"IS  graUfying,  too,  to  know  that,  while  "wit"  ia 

ZllTu  '?™°y"°"»  ^«h  "wisdom,"  neitter   , 

the  latter's  antonym  or  opposite,    -fis  weuThaJ 

•t  «  not.  for.  as  Scott  says:    "Though  wit  be  ve^ 


McMASTER  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARVT 


ft     " 


100 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


It! 


|t 


useful,  yet  unless  a  wise  man  has  the  keeping  of 
it,  that  knows  when,  where,  and  how  to  apply  it, 
it  is  like  wild-fire,  that  runs  hissing  about,  and 
blows  up  every  thing  that  comes  in  its  way."  Let 
it  be  said  for  the  encouragement  of  younger 
priests  of  brilliant  parts,  and  for  the  honor  of  the 
cloth  generally,  that,  neither  in  the  case  of  such 
witty  clerics  as  have  achievcu  international  fame, 
—Father  Arthur  O'Leary,  for  instance,  or  "Father 
Prout,"  Father  Tom  Burke,  O.P.,  or  Father  Healy 
of  Bray— nor  in  that  of  such  of  their  intellectual 
peers  as  have  ever  come  under  the  observation  of 
the  present  writer,  could  it  be  said  with  truth  that 
they  had  less  judgment  than  wit,  more  sail  than 
ballast.  And,  that  exceptional  wittiness  is  no 
handicap  to  the  Americaii  priest,  and  no  bar  to 
his  ecclesiastical  preferment,  is  abundantly  clear 
to  any  one  who  enjoys  even  a  limited  acquaint- 
ance among  the  members  of  the  American  hier- 
archy. The  fact  is  that,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
brilliant  wit  implies  the  possession,  rather  than 
the  want,  of  notable  understanding,  sound  judg- 
ment, and  abundant  conmion  sense. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  however,  perhaps  a 
young  cleric  might  do  worse  than  pray,  in  a  para- 
phrase of,  "Give  me  neither  beggary,  nor  riches: 
give  me  only  the  necessaries  of  life" — Give  me 
neither  stupidity,  nor  wit:  give  me  only  a  saving 
sense  of  humor.  Exaggeration  may  characterize 
this  statement  cf  an  American  essayist:  "There 
is  certainly  no  defense  against  adverse  fortune 
which  is,  on  the  whole,  so  effectual  as  an  habitual 
sense  of  humor;"  but  it  is  indubitably  true  that 


CLERICAL  WIT  AND  HUMOR  101 


such  a  sense  is  well  caUed  "a  modulating  and  re- 
straining balance-wheel,"  and  that  this  power  of 
perceiving  relaUons  of  a  mirth-provoking  kind, 
this  capacity  of  being  affected  by  the  ludicrous 
aspects  of  various  matters  and  occurrences  in  the 
lives  ot  others  and  in  our  own  as  well,  is  a  provi- 
denUal  gift  for  which  to  be  thankful.  It  helps  to 
give  us  a  true  perspective,  to  prevent  our  taking 
ourselves  and  others  too  seriously,  to  make  us 
recognize  our  li.-nitations,  to  lessen  the  jar  of 
everyday  disturbances,  and  to  flood  our  daily  life 
with  salutary  mental  sunshine. 

It  may  sound  paradoxical  in  the  statement,  but 
It  IS  true,  nevertheless,  that  a  keener,  more  genu- 
ine sense  of  humor  would  restrain  many  a  pseudo- 
humorist  from  conversational  excesses  and  ex- 
travagances which  make  the  judicious  grieve     It 
would  moderate,  for  instance,  the  activities  of  the 
confirmed  inveterate  story-teller  or  anecdotist,— 
a  character  more  or  less  common  in  all  clerical 
circles.    Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  is  authority  for 
the  dictum  that  "a  thought  is  often  original  though 
you  have  uttered  it  a  hundred  times;"  but,  how- 
ever orthodox  the  saying  may  be  when  restricted 
to  thoughts.  It  IS  certainly  heterodox  when  applied 
to  anecdotes.    The  story  tiiat  you  have  told  a  hun- 
dred times  is  unmistakably  trite  so  far  as  you  are 
concerned,  and  in  all  probability  is  thoroughly 
stale  to  your  auditors  as  well.    It  is  a  risky  ex- 
periment to  take  it  for  granted  that  even  an  anec- 
dote comparatively  new  to  ourselves  has  not  been 
heard  by  Uie  majority  of  tiie  company  to  whom 
we  narrate  it;  and  to  monopolize  the  attention 


V 

L 


103 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i 


■hi' 


I   \ 

!  i 


I: 


I 


li 


* 

1 

^^: 

1 
1 

I    . 

1 

■ 

of  a  social  gathering  by  our  long-drawn-out  nar- 
ration of  stories  which  reiterated  repetitions  have 
made  as  commonplace  as  remarks  upon  the 
weather  is  to  display  unpardonable  want  of  tact 
and  an  utter  absence  of  a  true  sense  of  humor. 

There  is  nothing  surer,  I.owever,  than  that  just 
such  absence  of  tact  will  often  be  shown  by  the 
humorist,  clerical  or  lay,  who  has  allowed  him- 
self to  become  dominated  by  the  anecdote  habit. 
Without  any  preliminary  inquiry  as  to  whether 
or  not  his  heareirs  are  already  acquainted  with  the 
story  he  has  in  mind,  he  proceeds  to  inflict  it  upon 
them  with  far  less  regard  for  any  entertainment 
they  may  derive  from  his  narrative  than  for  his 
own  delight  in  hearing  himself  talk.  The  need 
of  the  "chestnut  bell"  has  unfortunately  survived 
its  use;  and  in  its  absence  perhaps  the  only  ade- 
quate punishment  for  the  inveterate  raconteur 
who  persists  in  serving  up  the  mildewed  remains 
of  long-deceased  witticisms  is  to  greet  the  conclu-' 
sion  of  his  tale  with  a  chorus  of  groans  instead 
of  a  peal  of  laughter. 

The  cleric  who  is  more  or  less  the  slave  of  the 
anecdote,  or  story-telling,  habit  is  evidently  af- 
flicted with  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  **No  sane 
person,"  says  Champ  Clark,  "would  elect  to  be 
continually  cooped  up  with  another  who  is  witty 
and  humorous  on  all  occasions,  any  more  than 
he  would  desire  to  dwell  in  a  land  of  perpetual 
day;  but  sunshine  is  a  good  thing,  nevertheless." 
We  may  very  well  admit,  with  Charles  Lamb, 
that  "a  laugh  is  worth  a  hundred  groans  in  any 
market,"  without  committing  ourselves  to  the  sen- 


CLERICAL  WIT  AND  HUMOR 


103 


tinient  that  the  normal  expression  of  the  human 
countenance,  even  during  hours  of  relaxation  and 

ninTI-' .  r? 'i?^  *^"  perpetual  grinning  of  the 
proverbial  Cheshire  cat.  To  have  in  one's  mem- 
ory a  goodly  store  of  brilliant  epigrams,  happy 
Illustrations  mirth-provoking  jesS.  ludicrous 
bulls,   pointed   repartees,   humorous     tales,    and 

»Tnn^»»ff '"^"^f '  "  *°  ^^  P''«^i*^«<'  ^ith  ammuni- 
tion  that  IS  safe  to  come  into  legitimate  play  often 
enough  on  the  platform,  in  the  smoking  room,  a" 
social  functions  and  clerical  gatheringsl  but^t  is 

sa"b  titi'th'  ''''''^r'''  ^*p'°^^"« '-'''  -r»>«' 

squibs  with  the  reckless  profusion  of  the  Yankee 

S^eFlu^Th;fJy  ^"""™^^°"'  «— ^-  on 

«  Jn.f,  ^T^  ''  **""*  ^^  P"^«*  ^*»o  has  achieved 
a  reputation  as  a  good  story-teller  is  very  apt  to 
have  what  our  French  friends  call  "the  defects  of 
his  qualities."  With  the  lapse  of  tfrne  and  the 
strengthening  of  his  habit,  he  grows  prone  to  re! 
sent  compeution  in  his  particular  role.  To  take 
his  turn  with  the  rest  of  the  company  at  telUrg 
a  story  becomes  a  sacrifice  beyond  his  achieve: 

ZTn^  I"  "*"','  *^°'^  *^^  "oo'-^or  an  indeSe 
penod.  the  applause  that  greets  one  anecdote  set! 
ting  him  off  forthwith  upon  another,  and  the  p^- 
sibly  perfunctory  laughter  called  forth  bv  this 
second  serving  merely  as  an  excuse  to  begira 
third  He  forgets,  in  a  word,  one  of  the  charaC 
tenstics  which,  according  to  Newman.  dLote  the 

vewaUon,  and  never  wearisome."     Now.  be  it  ever 
so  brilliant,  monologue  inevitably  becomes  weari- 


SI 


in 


104 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i 


ii 


some,  especially  when  the  speaker's  auditors  arc 
anxious  to  substitute  dialogue  therefor. 

Another  danger  into  which  the  confirmed  lay 
anecdotist  is  very  apt  to  fall,  and  one  from  which 
his  clerical  counterpart  is  by  no  means  immune, 
is  the  tendency  to  indulge  his  propensity  even  at 
the  cost  of  violating  the  rules  of  reverence  and 
decorum,  not  to  say  those  of  common  decency. 
The  desire  to  raise  a  laugh  becomes,  when  habitu- 
ally and  excessively  catered  to,  a  species  of  mania 
that  will  attempt  to  gratify  itseh*  at  risks  quite  in- 
compatible with  a  due  sense  of  gentlemanly  self- 
respect,  to  say  nothing  of  saceruotal  dignity. 

While  it  is  quite  true  that  vulgarity  or  coarse- 
ness of  language  does  not  always  connote  im- 
modesty of  thought,  and  that  there  may  be  anec- 
dotes in  which  the  incidental  grossness  is  lost  in 
the  sparkling  wit,  the  judicious  cleric  is  rather 
prudish  than  ultra-free  in  narrating  such  anec- 
dotes himself,  or  in  applauding  their  narration  by 
others.  Lay  friends  of  priests  should  have  noth- 
ing to  learn,  on  the  score  of  clean  conversation, 
from  soldiers;  yet  an  incident  told  of  General 
Grant  is  worth  proffering  to  their  attention.  At 
a  military  dinner  in  the  early  seventies  a  certain 
major  noted  for  the  broadness  or  nastiness  of  his 
stories  began  one  with  his  usual  formula :  "Well, 
as  there  are  no  ladies  present,  .  .  .  .»*_ "No,  in- 
terrupted Grant,  "but  there  are  gentlemen." 

This  mention  of  ladies  suggests  yet  another 
danger  to  be  sedulously  avoided  by  the  clergy, 
that  of  disedifying,  not  to  say  scandalizing,  their 
housekeepers   or   servant  maids   by   the   undue 


fi^ 


!:l 


CLERICAL  WIT  AND  HUMOB 


lOS 


fn^  whU  ^  "  "T'"'  ^  *■•''•    A  dining-room 

."n.  i^  ^fPhaHcally  no  place  loi-  stories  border- 

vulgar.  S>UU  less  is  it  the  proper  place  for  IIip 
narrouon  of  ludicrous  incident,  coSne?ted  ,^m 
file  confessional,-if  indeed  ana  place  be  flf  '„r 
.ucl,  narratives.  In  baac  Bair^w^enumer^tir 
quoted  on  «  former  page,  of  the  occasiorand  d"' 
t^ZZV'^l  *"j'  "'•"""■""able,  he  men. 

«L  n  **  majority  of  experienced  eccl«,i. 
ashes  will,  we  Uiink.  endorse  the  statemenrtSLt 
the  sacrament  of  penance,  and  all  that  appertaiL 
thereto,  is  clearly  such  a  subject  Apart  from  a^ 
consideration  of  a  danger,  however  reSe  of 
violating  in  the  slightest  degree  the  ./ffi/Sm   the 

S^^f-lr^K  ""  "'  «'"'«''"»  experience  *„ 
Zli^r        t  *'"*  "^  ™«'»  "it  or  humor  is  a" 

t^^^.f  """'.."""■  l-^-Uon^We  taste.  Co„" 
fessional  stones-thc  best  and  most  innocent  of 
them-are  not  particularly  edifying  even  ta 
denes  themselves;  and  to  narrate  t^em  or  en 
courage  their  narration  in  the  pre  enS  of  Z 
laity  may  well  be  styled,  in  TalleyranS"  piase 
as   wo«e  than  a  crime,-it  is  a  blunder."  ^ 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said  about  takino  if 
for  granted  that  a  story  new  to  one's  , el?  is  io 

ous  to  cite  here  many,  if  any,  concrete  instances 
of  clerical  wit  and  humor.    Such  citing  would  aU 


106 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


too  probably  elicit  from  the  average  reader  some 
such  criticism  as  the  oldtime  reviewer's  caustic 
comment  on  a  volume  now  forgotten :    There  are 
some  good  things  and  some  new  things;  but  the 
good  things  are  not  new,  and  the  new  things  are 
not  good."   And  yet,  in  the  present  writer's  experi- 
ence, so  many  hoary  anecdotes  that  were  ancient 
even  in  his  boyhood  have  be'^n  rejuvenated  of  late 
years,  that  one  is  tempted  to  aHopt  Bacon's  prin- 
ciple in  compiling  his  "CollecUon  of  Apothegms. 
New  and  Old."  .He  says  he  fanned  (winnowed) 
the  old,  omitting  none  because  they  were  vulgar 
(familiar),  for  many  vulgar  ones  are  excellent 
good."    Lincoln  once  said  to  Noah  Brooks,  "I  re- 
member a  good  story  when  I  hear  it,  but  I  never 
invented  anything  original;  I  am  only    a  retail 
dealer."    That  is  probably  true  of  the  great  ma- 
jority of  story-tellers,  clerical  or  lay;  and  hence 
the  danger  of  one  s  good  things  turning  out  to  be 
"not  D«»w."    StiU,  when  one  sees  such  up-to-date 
newspapers   as  the  New  York  Sun,  the  Chicago 
Tribune,    and    the   Washington   Post   reprinting 
anecdotes  which  one  remembers  having  told  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  there  is  perhaps  some 
excuse  for  venturing  the  recital  of  one  or  two. 
even  though  one  cannot,  in  print,  take  the  judi- 
cious preliminary  precaution  of  inquiring  "Have 
you  ever  heard,  etc." 

The  witty  retort  that  "replies  to  obloquy,"  con- 
founds impertinence,  or  silences  a  bore,  is  uni- 
versally a,,preciated;  and  such  retorts  have  been 
innumerable  in  the  history  of  jest,  from  the  time 
when  Father  O'Leary  told  a  dissenting  parson 


II: 


CLEBICAI,  WIT  AND  HUMOE 


107 


who   had   aggrewlvely   informed   him:     "Sir    I 
could  never  .«ept  Purg.toor."-"Faift,  you  m«y 

inM  It      • '  '"  ■"  evoIuUoni.1,  and  I  want 

*"T  **  "I"*'"""  «ilh  you.  I  am  aLT  an 
"J,1'«'  "<""»'•  I  beUeve  that  whenTdl  tha" 
^  be  Uie  end  of  me/'-Thanlc  God  for  that  •' 
devouUy  exciaimed  Father  M.  a.  he  resumed  h'« 
mlerrupted  wailc.     A  pedeatrian  frieTd  "f  o^l 

twelve  miles  f.  day,  was  being  chalTed  bv  > 
brother  cleric  who  ha.  a  long-ItanZ«  reouta 
Uo„  fo,  ,„<,„.eity.  "Some  of  u  *  ■  .aidTe  chafflr" 
have  to  work;  we  can't  alTotd  to  apend  Sie  dav 
on  the  road."-"Thaf.  aU  right"  ~n|i«i  .S^ 
pedestrian,  -but  if  my  pedome£.^ere'^att^ch*d 
to  your  lower  jaw.  it  would  record  at  L  «d  of 
tte  day  a  good  many  more  mUes  than  I  w.Sk"- 

Muiphy-s  reply  to  the  inquiry  of  a  friend.  "Father 
did  you  ever  stand  at  the  church  door  after  vour 
sermon  and  listen  to  what  the  people  said  aLuUt 
a.  they  pa«ed  out?"    Said  Father  Mun,^    "I 

itlg^'r   "  """"  '""  "  "«*•  "•»■'  "' -ver  do 

the''<^r^l:if3»'f''«  "  '"'*°^'y  ">' 

o-,-  •    ^  ®  lollowing  instance  of  humnp*« 

am.ng  from  a  veri,al  mann<.-<3m.   The  forTr 
born  rector  of  a  Western  seminary  had  devd 
oped,  m  his  acquisition  of  Ihs  Fn.ii.i,  V 
an  especial  fon^dness  frL^^l^ttf'ToS  "' 
He  rather  overworiced  the  phitase  in  his  orSy 


I  pirn 


m 


108 


CLBB  OAL  COLLOQUIES 


■\ 


conversation;  but  did  not  tlioroughly  realize  the 
fact  until  he  found  himself  one  morning  begin- 
ning the  prayers  in  common — **In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  course  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.**  Apropos  of  bishops,  an  Anglican 
prelate  is  credited  with  what  a  punster  might 
style  a  handy  illustration.  He  had  been  remon- 
strating with  a  young  rector  of  sporting  tendencies 
for  driving  tandem,  to  the  scandal  of  the  pious 
and  the  discredit  of  the  church.  "But,**  pi^tested 
the  rector,  "your'  lordship  also  drives  two  horses, 
and  the  only  difference  between  us  is  that  your 
lordship  drives  them  side  by  side  and  I  drive 
them  one  in  front  of  the  other.*'— 'That  scarcely 
covers  the  case,'*  replied  the  bishop:  "when  I  place 
my  hands  thus  [palm  touching  pah.,  as  in  prayer], 
you  will  perceive  that  I  place  them  in  an  attitude 
becoming  a  Christian  and  a  bkhop;  but  when  I 
place  them  thus  [extending  the  fingers  of  both 
hands  one  in  front  of  the  other  and  applying  his 
thumb  to  his  nose]  you  will  admit  that  the  con- 
notation is  not  quite  the  same.** 

Not  so  victorious  in  the  matter  of  repartee  was 
the  Irish  bishop  who,  a  good  many  years  ago,  ex- 
amined Mike  Sullivnn  in  catechism.  Mike,  a  big, 
good-natured  gossoon  of  sixteen  or  seventeen, 
having  finished  the  course  of  studies  in  the 
Brothers'  school  in  his  native  Ballyna — something 
or  other,  had  journeyed  to  the  episcopal  residence 
to  consult  his  lordship  about  entering  the  pre- 
paratory seminary.  Being  shown  into  the  recep- 
tion room  Mike  seated  himself  in  the  easiest  chair 
he  could  find,  crossed  one  leg  over  the  other,  and 


CLERICAL  WIT  AND  HUMOR  109 


leiiurely  awaited  the  bithop'8  entrance.  FUi »  i. 
I»2  ."^"fu  *i  "'''"^'^*'"*  dignified,  ceremoniou. 
Su  i!^  ^^  '■■*  °'  '"*'°  ^*'>  ^hom  to  take  a 
llDcrty  On  entering  the  room  he  began  walkina 
up  and  down  its  length,  interrogating  Mike  as  he 

mv  JlL..^.^u'  y°"''  nanier_"Mike  Sullivan, 
my  lord.  --  Where  are  you  from?"-From  Bal- 

fiS*«**^;*  "?  yonder."-"What  do  you  wantr_ 

The  biihop  cast  a  withering  glance  at  the  lad  as 
he  replied,  icily.  "I  suppose  a  man  may  do  as  he 

Mikp  '.Mf  °T  ^P^t^-'-Oh.  of  course."  said 
Mike,    if  your  lordsh'p  doesn't  want  to  sit  down 

fl^h"!.'^??;  ^""'  '  ^"»  «°*"8  *°  »«y  that  IVe 
ff  !n^f.  1  J^'k;®''^*^""'  '"^°°'  "P  ho"^^.  and  that 
i«^"  -n***^'' ';'"""'  ^'^  "^'^  *°  «°  t«  the  semi- 
nary.  —  Do  you  know  your  catechism  ?"-."To  be 
sure,  my  lord;  at  least  I  think  I  do."    The  Bishoo 

mf«f«T.K  ^^^^"^  ^'^  ^^  ^"*  chapter  of  Butler, 
putting  the  opening  questions,  "Who  made  the 
world?  etc..  the  candidate  for  the  seminary  giv- 
ing the  correct  replies.  When,  however,  to  the 
question.  "Where  is  God?"  the  boy  give  the 
answer  of  the  book.  "God  is  everywhere,  but  is 
said  principally  to  be  in  Heaven,  where  he  mani- 
fests Himself  to  the  blessed."  the  prelate  sudden- 
ly switched  oflf  from  the  text  and  inquired:  "And 
what  does  God  do  in  Heaven  ?"-"Faith,"  replied 
Mike,  with  just  the  suggestion  of  a  twinkle  in  his 
roguish  Imh  eye.  "faith.  I  suppose  He  does  as  He 

entVriJ!t"thr  '^""•"    ^°'  '^  ^^«'"^-«- 
It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  remind  would-be 


'-  m 


n: 


i 


no 


<■■» 


Mi' 
11 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


Mtion.  not  the  food.**  and  that  Chesterfield  hai 
wi.ety  .aid:  "It  i.  by  vivacity  and  wit  that  man 
I  S  company;  but  trite  Jokes  and  loud 
IZ^aV^^T  ***?"  *°  '•  buffoon/'  Young  cleri  ^ 

whil  Y.  I"  """**  '**■*  ■  '*'"■'•>'  or  a  retort 
which  would  be  men  witty  if  addressed  to  their 
coevals  or  equals  may  well  become  an  imperw 
ttnence  when  addressed  to  their  seniors  or  su- 
periors; old  prieste  and  ecclesiasUcal  dignitaries 
need  reminding  that  in  a  contest  of  wits  the  recog- 
niscd  law  is  "give  and  take.**  and  that  if  they  coni 
descend  to  crack  jokes  af  the  expense  of  their 
uniors  or  inferior  in  rank,  they  have  no  riSl 
to  stand  on  their  dignity  and  complain  if  they 

every  grade  should  remember  that  the  ephemeral 

story  IS  all  too  dearly  purchased  if  ,ally  or  story 
has  offended  modesty  or  reverence,  jusUce  or  fra- 
temal  charity. 


r  .. 


vu 

OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 

ti.l%r2ith't«^5L"£;ji..  ^sKi  "S^*  Sn  ««•  Aft*' 

»i»,iet7.  ««wpw.     Bcbold  thjr  moikmt,—at.  Jokm: 

««.  JraltA«w,  0^  y^  ""  •»*•'  *"*•  »»»•  kingdom  0/  lie.ven.-. 

tWftS  S5£.lV*floJl  #,T"".I!!2»**^    *•   »»"•  world   hM  • 
M«  »irgw  to  m.—at.  Bemardine  of  Siena 

O""  chT.!^  ^""^'u  ''  ""«  •  C..hoUc  pulpit 

l.r.cll*'n'.t'.7''r.?"«  •  "cLH"'"'  "*  "" 
wid«»  tvnfM  "mere  a  Catholic  rectorv  the 

TcuZ'^  1:7  j^:,  tfi ""«"'"'""'  '• 

mn.»    I.  .1.         w«nne<l  by  her  beneficent  influ- 
who«   intellee.   dl" n*t   avowee?  ":•?*'•" 

com"  %ht*':jtrbu'rn":r  t'  r-"- .'» 

«.ddevelopin«.lu,.«^r„,t*^^^^^^ 
tone,  that  have  intervened  between  the  "Woman 

111 


112 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


Ifr 


IVi 


l 

t 

i 

1 

UT' 

behold  thy  son"  of  Calvary  and  the  authoritative 
decree  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  with  its  corrobora- 
tive "I  am  the  Immaculate  Conception"  of 
Lourdes,  it  is  the  widest-spreading,  most  um- 
brageous tree  that  has  yet  appeared  in  the 
Church's  history  to  beautify  and  cheer  the  world 
redeemed  by  that  Church's  Founder. 

Now,  if  all  this  be  so,  and  surely  no  true 
priest  will  presume  to  question  it,  what  need 
should  there  be  of  recalling  to  the  minds  of 
clerical  readers  their  congruous  attitude  towards 
their  Queen  and  their  Mother?  The  need  engen- 
dered by  human  weakness,  by  the  progressively 
destructive  effects  of  a  routine  degenerating  into 
mere  mechanical  action,  by  the  perennial  distinc- 
tion between  intellectual  assent  to  a  given  doc- 
trine and  practical  conduct  in  accordance  there- 
with. If  our  pergonal  devotion  to  Our  Lady  were 
at  all  in  proportion  to  our  knowledge  of  her  pre- 
rogatives, even  the  least  scholarly  among  us 
vsrould  require  no  extraneous  aid  to  intensify  our 
love  for  her  or  stimulate  our  zeal  in  imparting 
that  love  to  others.  The  youngest  child  in  our 
parish  school  knows  enough  about  the  Mother  of 
God  to  love  her  well  and  pray  to  her  confidently; 
and  it  may  be  that  some  of  us  might  profitably 
barter  all  our  theological  erudition  concerning  the 
Deipara  for  a  fuller  measure  of  the  child's  con- 
fidence and  love.  It  is  quite  possible  to  be 
thoroughly  conversant  with  Mariology,  to  know 
all  that  the  Church  expressly  teaches  and  all  that 
the  Fathers  and  Doctors  venture  as  opinions  about 
the   Blessed   Virgin,   possible   indeed   to   preach 


QUB  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


113 


about  her  eloquently  and  endeavor  to  spread  her 

thT!!°K*^T°*.°**''"'  '^^**^°"*  *»«^i»«'  oneself, 
that  habitual  attitude  of  mind  and  heart  towards 

her  which  is  the  real  test  of  our  devotion's  genu- 
ineness. * 

If  there  is  one  defect  more  prominent  than 
another  m  the  conduct  of  the  average  cleric  in 
his  relations  with  the  Blessed  Virgin,  it  is  perhaps 

InH  ^^    r^!/°°  "'"''^  '*^^''  "P°"  ^^r  queenliness 
and  too  little  on  her  motherhood  and  the  quali- 
ties imphed  in  that  word  of  sweet  savor    Her 
grandeur  and  power  he  extols  unstintedly,  her 
loving-kmdness    and    willingness    to    exert    her 
power  in  our  behalf  are  less  emphasized,  or.  if 
they  are  insisted  upon  in  his  sermons  and  instruc- 
tions to  his  people,  they  are  too  often  minimized 
m  his  personal  petiUons  and  ejaculations.      Unless 
we  become  as  little  children,  we  are  assured  that 
we  shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and 
unless  we  have  learned  to  visualize  Our  Lady  as 
the  tender,  loving  mother  of  our  individual  self 
one  to  whom  we  can  and  do  appeal  with  the  sim- 
plest and  most  childlike  confidence  in  her  power 
and  will  effectively  to  aid  us.  we  are  unquesUon- 
ably  derehct  in  our  duty  to  the  Mother  whom 
Jesus  gave  us.  and  unconscionably  neglectful  of 
one  of  the  most  potent  of  all  means  whereby  to 
at  am  either  the  perfection  of  our  state  or  the  bare 
salvation  of  our  souls. 

Does  it  savor  of  exaggeration  to  declare  that 
priests  of  God  sometimes,  not  to  say  frequently 
lack   this  childlike   confidence?      lit  the  readJ; 


£- 
t 


]'! 


114 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


examine  his  own  heart  and  ask  himself  how  he 
has  acted  time  and  time  again  in  the  presence  of 
some  violent  temptation.      He  has  prayed  to  Our 
Lady,   has   repeated   Hail   Marys,   has   said    the 
Beads,  it  may  be,   asking  her   to  procure  him 
strength  to  overcome  the  tempter   (whether  the 
world,  the  flesh,  or  the  devil);  but  has  not  hia 
prayer  been  rather  a  perfunctory  precaution  than 
a  genuine  cry  for  help  that  he  not  only  hoped,  but 
expected,  to  be  granted?     Even  while  his  lips 
murmured  the  suppliant  words,  has  he  not  been 
convinced  at  heart,  not  that  he  would  conquer, 
but  that  he  would  faU?    Intellectually,  he  believed 
in  the  power  of  his  heavenly  Queen  to  help  him 
on  to  victory;  but  intimately,  in  the  very  depths 
of  heart  and  soul,  he  lacked  undoubting  trust  in 
his   loving   Mother's    willingness,  her    eagerness 
even,  to  come  to  his  assistance.    The  blest  assur- 
ance with  which  the  child  throws  itself  into  its 
mother's  arms  as  a  certain  refuge  from  threaten- 
ing danger  has  not  been  his,  and  he  has  fallen  a 
victim  to  his  want  of  confidence. 

It  matters  not  that,  in  the  pulpit  or  the  confes- 
sional, the  priest  habitually  points  out  the  folly 
of  this  course  of  action;  all  too  often  in  his  per- 
sonal conduct  he  is  fain  to  confess 

...     Video  meliora  proboque, 
Deteriora  sequor. 

Preaching  is  one  thing,  practicing  is  quite  another. 
If  the  mere  knowledge  of  what  is  right  ensured 
the  performance  of  duty,  Lucifer  would  still  be 
in  heaven  and  never  a  priest  would  be  languishing 


OPB  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


lis 


in  purgatory.    It  would  be  a  measureless  good  to 
the  clerffl,  a   large  if  a  Uthe  of  the  advice  which 

acted  upon  by  themselves,  and  parUcularly  in  this 

XrVauST- "'  '"f  °''  '"  0"'  Lady/o„  the 
other  hand,  it  is  an  almost  measureless  ill  that 

weTairor  J"."*,*  '    ""  «'''-"'"'  ">»'•  "eoause 

povrer  we       n.?i  8'°'7    «nd    prestige    and 

power,  we      .aally  possess  that  real  and  true  de- 
vouon  to  her  which  alone  will  prove  of  g^nufne 

eneSel  „/  '"  °"  "*"."'""'"  "™8«'«=  ««»'»»'  *« 
enemies  of  our  salvation,  of  powerful  aid  to  us 

rercHoT"*  *'  """'"°"'  •"»'«'='-  'o  »«"d"ta! 

ill. "  "^.^  •"  '""^''  ''''"«  «»  "!•">««.  just  here  an 
illuminaUve  paragraph  written  by  a  transaUanHc 
priest  for  his  clerical  fellow-countomen^ 

requ°re*we  m^ust^S"!,*"  "^7  ""<=''  <>"  «ves 

Catholic  life     Itl.  il^^„      J  "  '*""'.  *"<'  effect  our 
thaf  wl  a„  no','  Z'ti,t  ?«t  ofrn'^"' S  ?<;"  «^"'' 


H 
Pi 


r 

5' 


116 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


HI 


;i 


fear;  that  where  He  has  loved  we  may  follow 
humbly,  loving  too.  Is  not  ours  sometimes  a  love 
which  weighs  its  service  and  counts  its  acts? 
Love  such  as  this.  j(iven  grudgingly,  and  in  scant 
weight  and  measure,  is  the  fruit  of  Protestant  sur- 
roundings. The  atmosphere  of  heresy  has  in- 
fected us,  and  we,  all  Caiholics  though  wo  be  in 
faith,  do  not  bring  forth  flowers  like  the  sons  of 
other  lands.  In  Italy,  in  Spain,  in  Ireland,  love 
of  the  Mother  of  God  is  drunlk  in  by  the  little  ones 
with  their  own  mother's  milk.  The  street  comers 
tell  the  childrei)  of  her  power,  the  very  hills  pro- 
claim her  name;  the  niches,  the  wayside  lamp,  the 
rude  inscriptions  on  their  country-roads,  an  tell 
the  same  tale  of  a  love  strong  as  death,  of  a  love 
almost  born  with  them,  the  love  of  the  children  of 
the  land  for  God's  dear  Mother.^ 

While  religious  conditions  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic  are  not  identical  with  those  in  England, 
they  are  sufficiently  alike  to  render  the  foregoing 
reflections  and  warning  of  practical  rather  than 
purely  academic  interest  to  all  of  us.  The  preva- 
lent attitude  of  the  great  bulk  of  non-Catholic 
Americans  is  not  perhaps  one  of  aggressive  heresy 
so  much  as  of  virtual  nothingarianism  or  re- 
ligious indiff'erentism;  but  their  reaction  on  our- 
selves is  hardly  less  deleterious  on  that  account. 
And  that  they  do  react  more  or  less  even  on  the 
clergy  is  scarcely  questionable.  Consciously,  or 
unconsciously,  we  are  all  affected  by  the  atmos- 
phere bj  which  we  are  surrounded.  We  can  no 
more  live  in  a  non-Catholic  or  mixed  community, 
converse  habitually  with  non-Catholic  friends 
and  neighbors,  read  habitually  non-Catholic  books 

1  OMoa  KeatiBSe  ia  7***  Priest:  His  Char  net  tr  and  Work, 


OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


117 


and  papers,  without  being  in  some  way  affected  by 
non-Catholic  views  and  sentiments  than  we  can 
travel  a  thousand  miles  on  a  railway  train  with- 
out having  our  clothes  and  pei-son"  soiled  with 
dust  and  soot.  Imperceptibly,  it  may  be,  but  none 
the  less  certainly,  the  indevotion  of  others  tends 
to  the  gradual  weakening  of  our  own  piety,  un- 
less we  take  positive  means  constantly  to  keep 
our  devoti»."ii  vivid,  warm,  and  living. 

One  such  means,  available  enough  to  our  fel- 
low-priests of  an  older  day,  is  less  called  for  in 
our  time,  save  perhaps  in  certain  environments,— 
vigorous  defense  against  incessant  attacks.    One  of 
the  most  striking  facts  in  connection  with  the  de- 
velopment of  Catholic  devotion  to  Our  Lady  that 
is  constantly  going  on  from  decade  to  decade  and 
century  to  century,  is  a  notable  diminution  of  the 
insistence    with    which    the    oldtime    charge    of 
Mariolatry  is  preferred  against  us  by  those  out- 
side the  fold.    It  would  seem  that  the  more  multi- 
plied become  the  manifestations  of  our  confiding 
love  and  engrossing  veneration  for  our  Mother 
Mary,  the  less  do  non-Catholics  feel  called  upon 
to  protest  against  our  attributing  to  her  powers 
and    privileges    inherent    in    Our   Savior    alone. 
Whether  it  be  that  the  gross  ignorance  formerly 
displayed  by  our  separated  brethrpn  as  to  Cath- 
olic doctrine  concerning  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  be- 
coming dispelled  in  an  appreciable  measure,  or 
that  many  of  themselves  have  come  to  entertain 
sounder  and  more  ration       views  as  i     Mary's 
place  in  the  scheme  of  ^        -world's  redemption 
and  sanctification,  certain  ..  is  that  Our  Lady's 


0) 

i"! 

n 


118 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


||i!: 


|i 


i-|f: 


«:*;• 


cult  as  the  years  go  by  evokes  fewer  and  fewer 
Urades  of  abuse  from  those  who  are  wont  to 
boast  of  their  freedom  from  the  "superstiUons  of 
Rome." 

The  change  is  probably  due  in  part  to  both 
these  causes.    No  fairly  educated  Protestant,  how- 
ever inimical  he  may  be  to  the  Church  and  her 
tenets,  will  stultify  himself  nowadays  by  main- 
taining that  we  consider  the  Blessed  Virgin  equal 
or  in  any  way  comparable  to  God,  or  that  we  be- 
lieve her  other  than  entirely  dependent  on  God 
for  her  existence,  her  privileges,  her  grace,  and 
her  glory.    It  is  evident,  also,  that  in  at  least  one 
of  the  multitudinous  sects  Uie  t.  je  Catiiolic  idea 
of  Our  Lady  is  rapidly  gaining  ground,  and  Uiat 
the  adherents  of  that  sect  not  only  appreciate,  but 
imitate,  the  strong  and  fervid  expressions  with 
which,  in  Uie  impassioned  ardor  of  genuine  love, 
we  sometimes  address  the  immaculate  Queen  of 
Heaven. 

Not  that,  even  among  the  educated  or  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Anglican  Ritualists,  dissent  has  al- 
togeUier  died  away  or  criticism  been  silenced.  We 
are  still  accused  of  paying  too  lavish  homage  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  of  dwelling  too  constantly  on 
her  privileges  and  of  enhancing  them  beyond  just 
bounds,  of  invoking  her  too  assiduously,  and  of 
according  to  her  in  our  public  services  and  litur- 
gcal  prayers  titles  befitting  the  Son  rather  tiian 
His  Mother.  We  are  told,  in  a  word,  that  the 
prominence  enjoyed  by  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the 
liturgy  of  Uie  Church  and  in  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  Church's  children  is  a  prominence  for  which 


OUB  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


119 


neither  Scripture  nor  apostolic  tradiUon  furnishes 
sufficient  warrant. 

It  is  obvious  of  course  that  those  who  make 
such  statements  can  neither  have  studied  Holy 
Writ  to  much  purpose,  nor  have  traced  with  any- 
thing approaching  scienUflc  accuracy  the  mighty 
stream  of  Marian  devotion  back  to  its  origin  and 
source.    As  all  of  us  know,  Scripture  fairly  teems 
with  references  to  the  grandeur  and  power  and 
beauty  of  our  Heavenly  Mother,-from   Genesis 
wherein   Almighty   God   declares   that  she   shall 
crush  the  serpent's  head,  to  the  Apocalypse  with 
its  eulogy  of  "a  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and 
the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  on  her  head  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars."     In  the  Old  Testament, 
the  master-intellects  of  all  time-a  St.  Augustine, 

v.v«-  ?T^'  ^  ^*-  Bernard-have  discerned  the 
Vir^n  of  Nazareth  beneath  reiterated  figures  and 
symbols,  have  seen  her  prerogaUves  and  her  glory 
shadowed  forth  in  every  chapter  and  on  eve^ 
page.  As  for  the  New  Testament,  no  special  su- 
penority  of  intelligence  is  required  to  discover 
therein  ample  warrant  for  all  the  honor  paid  to 
Mary  by  even  the  most  enthusiasUc  of  her  devo- 
tees; and  It  argues  a  positive  perversion  of  ordi- 
nary common  sense  to  assert  that  Our  Ladv's 
obscure"    ^^^   ^""^^^^   "   ^'^^"^  insignificant   or 

Mary?  We  priests  especially  are  familiar  with 
the  tale,  but  it  will  harm  none  of  us  to  read  its 
summary  once  again.  The  Gospel  tells  of  a  Vir- 
gin  greeted  by  an  Angel  in  the  name  of  God   of 


ni 

70 

c 

f 


M 


120 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


H^ 


a  maiden  chosen  from  among  all  women  and  de- 
clared "full  of  grace,"  of  a  creature  deliberating 
with  the  Creator  concerning  the  salvaiion  of  the 
world  and  giving  the  consent  awaited  by  Heaven 
and  earth,  "Be  it  done  unto  me  according  to  thy 
word."      The  Gospel  shows  us  a  Virgin-Mother— 
virgin  while  becoming  a  mother,  mother  while  re- 
maining  a   virgin,   perhaps   the   greatest   of   all 
prodigies  effected  by  the  Most  High  in  His  deal- 
ings with  mankind.     It  shows  us  John  the  Bap- 
Ust  sanctified  in  his  mother's  womb  on  the  occa- 
sion of  Mary's  visit:  and  shall  we  be  told  that 
Mary  does  not  cooperate  in  the  sanctiflcation  of 
souls?    Or,  having  before  our  eyes  the  account 
of    Our    Lord's    first    miracle    wrought    at    His 
Mother's  request,  shall  we  be  censured  for  hold- 
mg    that    Mary's    prayers    are    most    powerful? 
FmaUy,  the  inspired  narrative  of  the  Evangelists 
shows  us  Mary  living  for  thirty  years  in  daily  and 
intimate  intercourse  with  Jesus,— not  only  receiv- 
ing His  caresses,  profiting  by  his  instrucUons  and 
example,  drinking  full  draughts  at  the  very  source 
and  fountain  of  grace,  but  also  exercising  author- 
ity over  the  Son  of  God,  giving  Him  orders  to 
which  He  was  ever  obedient— e/  erat  subditus  illis. 
What  panegyric  is  comparable  to  this  simple 
recital?    Or  in  what  can  we  exalt  our  Blessed 
Mother  more  than  she  is  exalted  here?    On  the 
very  face  of  it  the  Gospel  attributes  to  Mary  a 
glory  congruous  to  no  other  created  being,  places 
her  on  a  plane  of  immeasurable  grandeur  lower 
only  than  that  whereon  the  Godhead  reigns  su- 
preme.    So,  too,  with  tradition.     So  far  as  the 


OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


121 


Apoitles  are  concerned,  we  have  in  their  Creed, 
or  Symbol  of  faith,  a  more  than  suinclent  reason 
for  all  the  honor  wc  pay  Our  Lady,  if  not  for 
greater  honor  still.    In  that  necessarily  brief  sum- 
mary of  Christian  dogmas  the  Blessed  Virgin  and 
her  place  in  the  Divine  economy  are  not  left  un- 
noticed.    She  is  there,  prominently  there,  asso- 
ciated with  the   three  persons  of   the   adorable 
Trinity,  taking  active  part  in  the  regeneration  of 
mankind,  sharing  with  God  the  Father  the  privi- 
lege of  engendering  the  Word;  because  the  Word 
conceived  eternally  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father 
was  conceived  in  time  in  the  womb  of  Mary  bv 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.    "Conceived  by 
he  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary."  says 
the  Apostles'  Creed  of  Jesus  Christ,  affirming  the 
two  privileges  to  which  our  Blessed  Mother  owes 
all   others,   and   justifying  superabundantly   the 
veneration  due  and  given  to  her  above  every  other 
created  being  on  earth  or  in  heaven. 
«f  tu   Vt^  *  u^  Apostles,  so  with  all  the  Fathers 
ot  tue  Church  in  every  century  of  the  Christian 
era.      Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  is  the  theme  of 
their  most  eloquent  eulogies,  the  subject  of  their 
continuous  praise   and   homage.      Listen    to   St. 
Epiphamus.  a  bishop  of  the  fourth  century,  when 
heretics  would  have  us  believe  that  Mary's  cult 
had  scarce  begun  :-"What  shall  I  say,"  he  be- 

holy  Virgin?  God  alone  excepted,  she  is  above 
all  beings.  More  beautiful  than  the  Cherubim 
and  Seraphim  and  all  the  angelical  army,  an 
earthly  voice  or  even  that  of  an  angel  is  too  weak 


1 


122 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


fittingly  to  praise  her.  O  Blessed  Virgin,  purest 
dove,  celestial  spouse,  O  Mary,  heaven,  temple, 
and  throne  of  the  Divinity,  you  possess  the 
Sun  which  illumines  heaven  and  earth,  Jesus 
Christ.  .  .  .  The  angels  accused  Eve,  but  now 
they  glorify  Mary  who  has  rehabilitated  fallen 
Eve  and  opened  heaven  to  Adam  expelled  from 
Eden.  For  Mary  is  the  mediatrix  of  heaven  and 
earth,  uniting  these  two  extremes.  .  .  .'»  And  so 
on,  in  a  strain  of  glowing  panegyric  unsurpassed 
by  the  most  devoted  servants  of  Our  Lady  in  any 
subsequent  age.  Thus,  in  both  he  written  and  the 
unwritten  Word  of  God,  in  Holy  Scripture  and 
Tradition,  we  have  the  fullest  and  most  ample 
warrant  for  all  we  believe  and  teach  concerning 
God's  Immaculate  Mother,  and  have  moreover  a 
steadfast  guarantee  that  the  devotion  by  which 
we  honor  her  is  acceptable  and  agreeable  in  the 
sight  of  her  Incarnate  Son. 

No;  there  is  nothing  of  Mariolatry  about  our 
attitude  towards  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  one  is 
almost  tempted  to  add— more's  the  pity!  It 
would  assuredly  be  an  excellent  thing  for  many 
of  us  priests  if  our  personal  devotion  to  Our  Lady 
were  so  pronounced  and  so  fervent  as  to  suggest 
that  in  our  whole-heaHed,  childlike  dependence 
on  our  heavenly  Mother  we  were  sinning  by  ex- 
cess rather  than  defect.  Given  our  clear  and  ade- 
quate comprehension  of  her  real  place  in  God's 
creation  and  her  undoubted  office  in  the  economy 
of  our  own  as  well  as  the  world's  redemption  and 
sanctification,  it  is  well  nigh  impossible  for  us  to 
increase  our  devotion  to  her  beyond  due  boun 


OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


123 


and  measure.  Gr*inted  that  we  have  long  cher- 
ished some  degree  of  such  devotion,  and  that  it 
daily  finds  expression  in  one  or  another  of  many 
modes,  can  not  our  love  and  invocation  and  imi- 
tation of  Mary  be  safely  practiced  in  a  measure 
far  fuller  than  that  which  they  have  yet  attained? 
Our  love  for  Our  Lady !  Is  it  as  deep,  as  ten- 
der, as  intense  as  it  ou^t  to  be  aud  as  we  are 
capable  of  makiiig  it?  She  is  our  Mother,  mother 
of  us  priests  in  a  fuller  sense  than  of  the  rest  of 
men:  it  was  to  a  priest  that  Christ  directly  said, 
**Son,  behold  thy  mother;"  and  His  omnipotent 
word  constituted  her  all  that  is  implied  in  that 
gracious  name,  the  touching  and  universal  syn- 
onym of  goodness  and  gentleness  and  devotion 
and  sacrifice.  In  virtue  of  her  motherhood  and 
our  sonship,  she  is  our  refuge  in  misery,  our  un- 
failing help  in  time  of  need,  our  counselor  in  suf- 
fering, and  our  ceaseless  advocate  at  the  throne 
of  Divine  Justice.  We  love  her,  it  may  be;  but- 
is  our  love  for  her  stronger  than  that  for  self,  than 
our  longing  for  fame  or  honor  or  wealth  or  ease? 
Do  we  love  her  to  the  extent  of  making  genuine 
sacrifices  for  her  sake,  of  manifesting  ardent  zeal 
for  her  devotion,  of  enkindling  a  similar  love  in 
the  hearts  of  our  people?  Do  we  take  especial 
pains  to  celebrate  with  all  due  solemnity  her 
major  festivals  and  her  month-long  feasts  of  May 
and  October?  Have  we  established  her  Sodality 
in  our  parish,  and  do  we  assiduously  endeavor  to 
gather  our  young  people  t'^^der  her  protecting 
mantle?  Do  we  sufficiently  often  advocate  in 
sermons,  familiar  instructions,  and  ordinary  cou- 


M 


T-i 


I- 


..    I, 


124 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


venation  the  wearing  of  the  Scapular  and  Uie  re- 
cital of  Uie  Rosary?  Nay,  in  our  personal  con- 
duct, do  we  gain  all  the  indulgences  we  reason- 
ably can  through  these  last-mentioned  practices 
of  piety?  Or,  rather,  is  not  our  love  for  Mary 
nebulous  instead  of  well  deHned,  inconstant  in 
its  expression,  transient  in  its  acts,  ephemeral  in 
its  glow?  If  so,  one  of  our  most  pressing  duties 
and  urgent  needs  is  to  intensify  and  fix  in  our 
hearts  the  flame  of  love  for  the  Mother  we  have 
received  from  our  great  High  Priest,  to  render  it 
fuller  and  brighter  than  as  yet  it  has  shone,  to 
feed  it  with  thought  and  word  and  act  until  its 
beneficent  light  illumes  and  irradiates  our  whole 
existence. 

We  invoke  our  Mother  every  day;  but  is  noth- 
ing wanting  to  the  invocation?    Is  it  as  earnest, 
as  fervent,  as  whole-souled  as  are  the  petitions 
of  ordinary  clients  to  earthly  benefactors  of  whom 
they  seek  precious  favors?  as  thoroughly  confi- 
dent as  used  to  be  our  own  entreaties  to  our  lov- 
ing natural  mothers?    Is  it  as  frequent  as.  in  view 
of  our  needs,  our  duties,  our  ti-ials,  and  our  temp- 
tations, it  should  be?    Nay,  are  our  prayers  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  invariably  real   prayers,  vivified 
with  genuine  intention  and  uttered  with  due  ad- 
vertence and  heed  to  what  we  are  saying;  or  are 
they  not  sometimes   the   mere   recitations  of  a 
memory-lesson,  almost  as  mechanical  as  Uie  rec- 
ords of  a  phonograph?    We  are  probably  insistent 
enough  m  admonishing  our  parishioners  as   to 
quatities  which  their  prayers  should  possess  in 
order  to  be  eiUier  reverent  or  effective:  may  we 


OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOTHER 


186 


not  occasionally  take  to  heart  our  own  counselt 
and  endue  our  petitions  to  Our  Lady  with  an 
actuality,  a  force,  an  energy,  and  especially  a  con- 
fidence of  which  hitherto  perhaps  they  have  too 
often  been  devoid?  Listless,  half-hearted,  per- 
functory recital  of  the  Beads,  the  Utany  of  Loret- 
to,  or  other  prayers  to  the  Mother  of  God  are  so 
far  from  being,  especially  in  a  priest,  adequate 
and  laudible  acts  of  piety,  that  one  is  tempted  to 
call  them  an  impertinence  rather  than  a  tribute  of 
respect  and  homage. 

Say  what  we  will,  and  reason  as  we  may,  if 
our  prayers  to  Mary  are  neither  so  frequent  nor 
so  fervent  as  in  all  conscience  they  should  be,  the 
lack  is  due  to  the  fundamental  defect  that  we  fail 
to  regard  her  in  the  congruous  light  of  a  personal 
mother,  loving  ourself  individuaUy  with  an   af- 
fection   immeasurably   surpassing   the   most   in- 
tense maternal  love  to  be  found  on  earth;  and 
fail  to  behave  towards  her  as  a  fond  and  frank 
and  penitent  child.      Where  is  the  little  one  in 
any  household,  rich  or  poor,  who  does  not  un- 
derstand, who  does  not  feel,  who  does  not  every 
day  of  its  life  and  every  hour  of  the  day,  act  on 
«ie  truth  that  a  mother  is  one  in  whom  to  con- 
fide?   What  one  of  us  that  has  ever  been  clasped 
to  the  loving  bosom  of  that  being  who  in  our  eyes 
was  the  most  beauUful.  the  kindest,  and  the  best 
of  all  earth's  women,— that  has  had  his  childish 
tears  kissed  away  by  a  mother's  soothing  lips,  his 
boyish  care  dispelled  by  a  mother's  tender  em- 
brace, his  youthful  woes  assuaged  by  a  mother's 
gentle  sympathy,  can  doubt  for  an  instant  that 


i 


1^ 


126 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


■ii& 


a  mother's  love  for  her  children  is  without  meas- 
ure, her  desire  to  relieve  them  from  all  distress 
unbounded,  and  her  wish  to  do  them  all  good  lim- 
ited only  by  her  power?  This  is  what  we  all  un- 
derstand by  that  sweet  word,  mother,  and  this  is 
undoubtedly  what  God  desires  us  to  understand 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  else  Jesus  had  never  said 
to  St.  John  standing  with  Mary  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross:    "Son,  behold  thy  Mother." 

Now,  if  Mary  is  indeed  our  Mother,  she  must 
be  as  perfect  in  that  capacity  as  in  every  other. 
Smce  she  is  without  exception  the  most  richly  en- 
dowed  of  all  created   beings   that  ever  blessed 
earth  or  graced  Heaven  with  her  presence,  she 
must  likewise  be  the  most  loving,  the  kindest  and 
sweetest  and  best  mother  ever  looked  up  to  and 
cherished  and  trusted  by  earthly  child.    It  is  ac- 
cordingly nothing  more  than  ordinary,  practical 
Catholic  common  sense  to  have  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  her  willingness  to  exert  in  our  behalf 
all  her  power,  and,  as  we  can  hardly  doubt,  that 
power  is  all  but  unlimited.    Priests  as  weU  as  lay- 
men, no  doubt,  should  bear  in  mind  St.  Peter's 
warning:    "Be  sober  and  watch :  because  your  ad- 
versary the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  goeth  about 
seekmg  whom  he  may  devour;"  but  it  is  the  part 
of  priestly  wisdom  to  remember  that  there  is  in- 
terested in  our  salvation  another  personage  more 
perfect  than  ever  the  devil  was  even  before  his 
fall,  one  who  stands  next  the  throne  of  God  in 
Heaven  and  is  immeasurably  more  anxious  and 
more  able  to  save  us  than  is  the  devil  to  destroy. 
She  IS  the  Woman  who  of  old  crushed  the  ser- 


OUR  QUEEN  AND  MOT  iER 


T27 


pents  head  and  who  still  defeats,  ovexmruv.5  and 
put^to  disastrous  rout  the  enemy  of  our  souls. 

To  conclude  with  the  thought  with  which  we 
began:  priests  are  seldom  perhaps  derelict  in  the 
duty  of  rendering  due  homage  to  Mary  our  Queen- 
but  many  of  us,  it  is  to  be  feared,  are  altogethe; 
too  unlike  little  children  in  our  personal  defotfon 
to  Mary  our  Mother.  uevouon 


J,. 

■p 


VIII 
THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 

A   CONFERENCE  DISCUSSION 

SOME  two  dozen  priests,  pastors  and  curates 
had  assembled  in  the  library  of  Dean  Patter- 
son's Parish  I^all  to  attend  the  quarterly  ecclesi- 
astical conference.  The  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus  hav- 
ing been  recited,  and  the  minutes  of  the  previous 
conference  having  been  read  and  adopted,  the 
Reverend  Dean  congratulated  the  members  on  the 
exceptionally  large  attendance.  The  only  ab- 
sentees were  Father  John  Conlan,  laid  up  in  Mt. 
Carmel  Hospital  with  a  broken  leg,  and  Father 
William  Ellis,  who  had  been  summoned  to  the 
death-bed  of  his  mother. 

"The  Bishop,"  continued  the  Dean,  "will  be 
particularly  pleased  to  learn  that  we  have  all 
profited  by  the  advice  he  gave  us  at  our  last  re- 
treat as  to  the  genuine  importance  of  these  con- 
ferences, the  necessity  of  every  one's  being  pres- 
ent thereat,  and  the  advisability  of  making  them 
really  worth  while  by  carefully  preparing  and 
judicioysly  discussing  the  different  papers  as- 
signed for  each  meeting.  As  for  the  thorough 
preparation  given  to  the  first  of  our  papers  to  be 
read  to-day,  I  need  say  no  more  than  that  the 
eminently  practical  subject.  The  Priest's  Visits, 
has  been  entrusted  to  the  venerable  pastor  of 
Maryville.     Father  Ferguson,  you  have  the  floor." 

128 


is' 

U'. 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


129 


Father  Ferguson .—Wery   ^.everend   Dean   and 
Reverend  Fathers :    One  of  our  privileges  (or  pun- 
ishments) of  advancing  years  is,  I  suppose,  the 
Iiabihty  to  be  called  on  for  a  display  of  that  wis- 
dom with  which  maturity  is  popularly  believed  to 
dower  the  man  who  has  left  the  half-century  mark 
of  hfe  more  than  a  decade  behind  him.  and  is  ap- 
proachmg  all  too  rapidly  for  his  own  taste  the 
scriptural  limit  of  three  score  and  ten.      That  the 
popular  belief  is  not  always  correct,  that  wisdom 
does  not  invariably  accompany  grey  hairs,  most 
of  you  do  not  need  to  be  told;  and  if  any  of  my 
young  friends,  these  curates  here,  do  still  cherish 
that  belief,  the  present  paper  will,  I  fear,  afford 
tliem  convincing  proof  to  the  cc'     '-v. 

Just  why  the  paper  has  bee  gned  to  me 

I  don  t  know  unless  it  be  that  n  j  experience  as 
curate  in  large  parishes  and  small,  as  rural  priest 
and  finally  as  city  pastor,  has  been  thought  suf- 
ficienUy  varied  to  allow  me  to  speak  with  some 
tirst-hand  knowledge  of  the  subject  in  its  entir - 
ty,  to  read  to  you  from  the  book  of  actual  life  a 
lesson  or  two  on  the  duty  and  the  pleasure,  the 
advantages,  and  the  occasional  dangers,  of  priest- 
ly visiting.    If,  as  the  proverb  has  it,  the  warn- 
ings of  age  are  the  weapons  of  youth,  such  ex- 
perience as  I  have  gone  through  may  possibly  fur- 
nish you  younger  men  with  a  few  practical  hints 
on  which  it  may  be  worth  your  while  to  act  as 
occasion  offers;  and  in  the  improbable  case  that 
there  are  any  among  you  so  wise  in  your  own  con- 
ceit that  you  disdain  the  advice  of  your  seniors 


i 

V- 

',1 


L 


t:    if 


130 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


you  may  profitably  reflect  on  another  proverb  the 
truth  of  which  is  not  so  patent  to  you  now  as  it 
will  be  later  on :  "Young  men  think  old  men  are 
fools,  and  old  men  know  young  men  to  be  so." 

At  the  outset,  let  me  say  that  I  do  not  purpose 
discussing  what  is  perhaps  the  commonest  form 
of  a  priest's  visiting,  the  sick-call.    Apart  from  the 
fact  that  we  listened  a  few  months  ago  to  Father 
Riordan's  excellent  paper  on  "The  Priest  and  His 
Sick,"  there  is  less  danger  perhaps  of  our  going 
astray  or  making  mistakes  in  that  form  of  visit 
than  in  most  others;  and  in  any  case  the  others 
will  afford  us  matter  enough  for  discussion  this 
afternoon.    I  have  known  in  my  time  priests  who 
maintained   that   the  sick-caiJ   is   the   only  visit 
really  obligatory  on  a  pastor,  and  that  the  "well- 
call,"  his  visiting  parishioners  or  others  not  sick 
or    afflicted,    is    a   purely   social   function    inde- 
pendent of  his  pastoral  duty,  and  amenable  only 
to  his  individual,  personal  preference  and  inclina- 
tion.   Now,  that  contention  can  hardly  be  made 
good.    Waiving  such  finer  points  of  the  matter  as 
might  be  involved  in  the  question  whether  or  not 
a  parish  has  been  canonically  erected,  it  appears 
to  me  that  the  position  is  quite  untenable  because 
it  conflicts  with  the  whole  conception  and  import 
of  ihe  pastoral  idea. 

In  the  opinion  of  his  people,  and  in  the  mind 
of  the  Church  as  well,  the  pastor  is  the  spiritual 
father  of  his  flock,  and  it  is  obviously  incom- 
patible with  one's  notion  of  genuinely  paternal 
care  and  love  for  him  to  hold  himself  aloof  from 
that  flock,  or  to  limit  his  intercourse  with  them, 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


131 


outside  of  church  services,  sodality  meetings,  etc.. 
to  those  occasions  on  which  he  is  sent  for  io  at- 

1?^  J'f  l^  *^^  **y^"«-  ^«*he^ly  interest  is. 
and  ought  to  be,  displayed  in  a  mulUplicity  of 
other  conjunctures  and  circumstances;  and  the 
pnest  who  is  desirous  of  doing  his  full  duty  to 
tiiose  entrusted  to  his  spiritual  care  and  guidance 
may  well  feel  that  sick-calls,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  that  phrase,  should  be  the  least  frequent  of  his 
visits  to  his  parishioners.  I  say  sick-calls  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  for  it  is  susceptible  of  a 
far  broader  signification  than  that  commonly  as- 
signed to  It.  The  sickest  members  of  a  pastor's 
flock  are  not  always,  or  even  generally,  those  who 

nrPv?°K"^M  'V''  «ck-room,  bed-ridden,   the 
prey  to  bodily  disease,  and  who  solicit  the  pres- 
ence of  their  spiritual  father:  but  rather  ttiose 
who  are  dangerously  ill.  far  advanced,  in  mala- 
dies^of  the  soul,  and  who  have  no  thought  of  call- 
ing .or  the  priest  and  no  desire  to  see  and  con- 
verse with  him  about  the  ailments  for  which  he 
hP^  n/E?°«°^^  physician.    To  leave  such  mem- 
bers of  his  flock  to  themselves,  to  make  no  effort 
towards  awakening  them  to  a  sense  of  their  peril- 
ous condition,  to  remain  unconcerned  as  to  their 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare,  is  very  surely  to 
act  m  a  manner  diametrically  opposed  to  that  of 
our  model  priest,  Jesus  Christ,  the  good  shepherd 
who  gave  his  liie  for  his  flock. 

wh.^!'"  J*T  •*  *?"  *°  '*y  *^^*  °°«  performs  one's 
whcle  duty  m  this  matter  when  one  is  faithful 
in  preaching  frequently  and  fervently  on  the  de- 
lay of  conversion,  on  the  eternal  ^  iiths,  on  death 


I     1-t| 


•'"J 

4 

'4] 


K 


132 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


.   ^|l 


m 


and  the  necessity  of  being  prepared  therefor. 
Such  preaching  is  excellent,  no  doubt;  but  it  not 
infrequently  happens  that  those  who  need  it  most 
do  not  hear  it  at  all.  One  not  uncommon  result 
of  spiritual  illness  is  the  neglect  of  the  Mass,  or,  at 
least  of  the  last  Mass,  at  which  these  sermons  are 
usually  given.  Personal  contact  with  the  care- 
less, the  fallen-away,  the  ought-to-be  Catholic  is 
the  only  practicable  method  by  which  the  priest 
may  hope  to  bring  about,  gradually  it  may  be  and 
very  slowly,  the  reform  of  his  erring  spiritual 
child;  and  a  truly  zealous  pastor  will  submit  to 
many  a  rebuff,  many  an  unpleasant  interview, 
man}  an  affront  even,  before  telling  himself  that 
he  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  win  the  obstinate 
sinner  back  to  God.  Unvarying  kindness,  cordial 
interest  shown  in  the  "black  sheep's"  children,  a 
word  in  season  slipped  into  an  ordinary  chat  on 
topics  of  the  day,  constant  prayer  for  his  conver- 
sion,— these  and  the  like  means  will  be  found 
most  commonly  to  be  eventually  effective  in 
bringing  the  unfaithful  son  of  the  Church  to  a 
recognition  of  his  danger  and  to  a  return  to  his 
duty. 

Apart  from  these  sick-calls  in  the  wider  sense, 
there  are  of  course  other  visits  which  are  quasi- 
pastoral  rather  than  purely  social.  In  some 
dioceses  it  is  customary  for  each  pastor  to  take 
a  yearly  census  of  his  parish,  personally  visiting 
every  family  committed  to  his  spiritual  charge; 
and,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  the  custom  a  thoroughly  good  one.  It 
ensures   at  any  rate   an   annual  individual  en- 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


133 


counter  of  priest  and  people,  a  consummation  de- 
voutly to  be  wistied  but  not  aJ'V'ays  achieved  in 
parishes  where  the  custom  does  not  exist.  Re- 
placing, or  supplementing,  such  yearly  visits  are 
the  calls  paid  on  any  one  of  a  score  of  different 
occasions  in  the  routine  of  ordinary  life, — occa- 
sions of  joy  or  sorrow,  of  good  or  bad  fortune, 
of  averted  danger  and  preservation  from  acci- 
dents, of  honor  won  or  courage  displayed,  of  glad- 
some or  saddening  anniversaries,  and  others 
equally  freighted  with  vibrant  emotion.  The 
visit  of  the  pastor  on  such  an  occasion  is  not  only 
thoroughly  congruous;  it  is  little  less  than  obliga- 
tory in  one  who  is  called  by  the  tender  name  of 
"Father." 

Come  we  now  to  social  visits  pure  and  sim- 
ple, visits  that  we  pay,  not  as  pastors,  but  as 
friends  or  acquaintances,  visits  the  determining 
motive  of  which  is,  not  the  spiritual  assistance  or 
edification  of  those  on  whom  we  call,  but  the 
gratification  of  our  own  personal  tastes  and  in- 
clinations. It  need  hardly  be  said  that  such  visits 
are  per  se  perfectly  legitimate.  Only  an  unduly 
severe  and  rigorous  censor  of  the  clergy  would 
think  of  condemning  them  as  derogatory  to  priest- 
ly dignity  or  destructive  of  priestly  piety.  That 
they  are  liable  to  abuse  (peculiarly  liable  in  the 
estimation  of  some  clerical  counsellors),  is  a  con- 
dition which  they  share  with  a  large  number  of 
other  excellent  things,  and  does  not  constitute  a 
valid  reason  for  their  condemnation.  After  all, 
priests  are  men,  not  angels;  and  social  intercourse 
with  their  fellow  human  beings,  lay  as  well  as 


K|     ■    -I 
1-    "i| 


as 


c) 


Ul 


184 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQTTTiBH 


Which  J8  most  nrnnilr      ,   °**  »Pintual  sanity 

eh«ge  of  S  aSuXut  %TZ  ."^ 
are  ceHainly  not  tabooprf  in  ii.  ^FnencWiips 

more  Uian  in  *e  or^a  "cm.h"'''"''''  '""  ""y 
a.  we  all  know.  "par^cu7ar  M^dr"^^  y"- 
demned  in  tho  ..»i«-    "*"*^  '"enasmps    are  con- 

Now.  wJe  we  are  nnf  ?'•""«*•""  *"«'"■"". 

do  w^we  in  Z  mailer  .h"'"?"";.''  **  """y  <='»"y 

a.   our  monalten  ^r  ^     '~?  "P°"  "•"•  P^^ih 

pari,IUone«  "  7e  eLmnT""-   ""f   ''*'"   »" 
brethren.  .h<,^„«  JfT'^'T  ■"'"'''  •«»•»  hi, 

notable  kingTor  ^me^";  '•""  '"  "»«'•  «han 
averrion  to  oU,e«  "''  '  """=«'>  """cealed 

may  very  proDerr^T  *'J''"°«  »'""'«  and 
ference",  «,""  As  to  .ht'^T''  '"  ""=''  »  con- 
ing  tlie  reciSt,  of  ou?!,-  •?"  "'"*'°"-  <='»'«™- 
ion  coincid^  ^VLTof  Th  '  "^  ^"'"""al  opi„. 
pastor',  social  calls  sL^Lr  "'"'  '«'■''  *«•  a 

parishione  Ji/none  ,,  „  -'  ■""?'  '"'  ""  "'" 
of  coarse  to^  oaal„»i  *  °.'™'  ™'*'  »•*!«' 
no  rule  is  exS^nMhan?  ""Pfo"'  from  which 
and  sane  ,tanZd  or  „n  ^T'V°  "*• '»  a  safe 
cleric  may  profltlv  -ill' ^  J'''''''  "  J"*"'""' 
oretically.^h^rSe  Lm??  J  '""  ""''"'=«•  The- 
or  none;  bui  J7„  /m"',"  "'  '"  altemaBve,  all 

tf  any.  prieslno  Xt  P"f «  "^^  -"^  '«"• 

■tpl^^^os^LTrS^^^^^^^^^ 

or  '-"«««iarlTa«rorrth\'^mfmt»- 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


135 


^e^H,'^-    ?■  •"'  ~""""»«  "■>  be  .aid  for  the 
<U8»entinR  opinion  which  holds  that  a  oaslor  hV. 

an  undeniable  right  to  vi,,,  only  .uchofh.  flock 
a.  are  congenial  to  him  in  quaiiUe.  of  miid  »n5 

?:^r.h°'  T-''"nnor;att?vef;  .:: 
e:prri'e"nc^^r;„^  "u"a^kr  r  "^1^ '"*" 

convince  mp   ll^^'^  °*^  people,  sufficed   to 

vJrh":vt?.c,"tro:''r^Thtfa™^^ 
a"/a?;.r^rci^ran"-^SHn^r 


1? 

I;: 

F 

ft 


I 


136 


•i    1. 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


•K 


SO,  it  would  seem,  the  pastor  who  is  in  very  truth  a 
good  shepherd  will  be  scrupulous  perhapZin  man 
Resting  greater  interest  in  the  less,  than  in  the 
more   fortunate  members  of  his  Hock.     In  view 
of  what  I  have  sometimes  seen,  however.  I  am 

Ik?''-  K ..    oft!*''"^  °"  ***^»  P°»n»=    "Don't  neglect 

he  nch."    The  ordinary  instincts  of  a  gentleman 

o  say  nothing  of  the  fatherly  sentiment  of  a^a": 

tor.  should  suffice  CO  keep  a  priest  up  to  the  mark 

in  his   attentions    to   the   poorer  people   of  his 

pansh;  and.  on  the  whole,  he  is  safer  perhaps  in 

visiting  them  more,  instead  of  1  ^,,  frequentlv 

han  the  wealthier  families  unJe.   iiisp'aS 

thllu  u?''^"  "°  extreme  to  be  avoided.      In 

the  thoroughly  intelligible  desire  not  to  appear  a 
sycophan t,  a  toady,  or  a  parasite,  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible to  lean  over  backwards"  and  treat  the  rich 
with  an  exaggerated  independence  and  exclusive- 
ness  that  IS  practically  equivalent  to  a  boycott. 
Ihat  IS  of  course  an  abuse.  The  rich  have  quite 
as  much  right,  and  not  infrequenUy  have  fully 
as  much  need,  of  their  pastor's  visits  as  have  the 
poor;  and  the  judicious  parish  pr.est  will  pay  his 
visits  impartially  to  both.  ^^ 

F«thP^'^'  ^^'^  Reverend  Dean  and  Reverend 
leathers,  are  some  aspects  of  the  subject  confided 
to  me  on  which  I  have  thought  it  well  to  insist 

ZZJ"""'  ?K  *!l^  '"^J^^*  ^"  doubtless  be 
brought  up  m  the  discussion  which  is  to  follow. 
Not  to  defer  that  discussion  any  longer   let  me 

Trf «:  r  \f  "'^^  "°'^  from'theSa^^a 
word  app  icable   especially  in   the  case  of  our 

purely  social  visits:    "It  is  easier  to  keep  L^d 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


187 


at  home  than  to  be  able  to  be  sufficiently  on  our 
guard  abroad." 

The  Dean :— The  gpeclflc  commentators  or 
critics  appointed  to  discuss  the  excellent  paper  to 
which  we  have  just  listened  are  Fathers  Downey 
and  Harris,  both  ot  whom  I  see  present.  Father 
Downey,  we  shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  you. 

Father  Downey:— I  presume  my  first  duty  is 
to  congratulate  the  author  of  the  paper  on  his 
avoidance  of  a  fault  of  which  we  have  had  occa- 
sional instances  in  these  conferences  of  ours,  and 
which  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  an  attribute 
oi  the  old  age  he  bears  so  gracefully,  prolixity. 
The  average  listener  to  his  paper  is  far  more  like- 
ly to  say,  "  Twas  very  good,  what  there  was  of 
it,  than  "Twas  long  enough,  such  as  it  was." 
Personally  I  d  have  wished  him  to  be  con- 

siderably longer,  in  which  case  he  would  undoubt- 
edly have  touched  on  some  points  of  which  he 
said  HDthing,  and  dwelt  a  little  more  fully  on  one 
or  two  which  he  did  mention. 

He  might,  for  instance,  have  animadverted  at 
greater  length  on  the  very  real,  if  not  always  real- 
ized,  dangers  attendant  on  unofficial,  non-pastoral 
visits  to  women.  The  truth  that  we  are  men,  not 
angels,  may  well  be  seasoned  in  this  connection 
with  the  proverbial  dictum  that,  "Man  is  fire  and 
woman  is  tow  and  the  devil  comes  and  blows  " 
It  is  all  very  well  to  insist  that  our  office  as  pas- 
tors imposes  on  us  duties  which  preclude  our  ex- 
ercising such  avoidance  of  the  othe-  sex  as  is  rec- 
ommended by  many  of  the  oldtime  saints;  but  it 
IS  worth  while  to  remember  that  the  world  is  not 


;.f 


N 

( 


138 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQfriBH 


i 


ltl*"'i'""''"'  **  ""•'' '«"  ««''.  or  the  devil  len 
pK  o'f  'Z''r  ,"■""  *""'  S'-  Patriot 
iice  of  ?  J      u ""»''"  "'■"'■••    No  doubt  the 

more  n^t  to  count  on  a  copiou.  supply  of  that 
pace  when  we  are  acquitting  oumelve.  of  pal 

Sv 'Juf'- """'",'•  """"  """>  when  we'a" 
S    Yot,r?i°"  '»«"■'•«''»  for  "ocial  inle" 

-n^ar""-"  """'"'"'y  «■"  ^-'-f'thSr 

Father  pliril;*  *'?!"'  •"^"'^'P'*  '"^  down   by 
one-.  nariT    "•  ""'*  f  ''»'""«  «"  "  -one  of 

DractiM    AMh.  .?*'"^  ""<'  »«'  "Pon  it  in 

k^™         '  ""'  """'  ""'  '  ""»'  "y  that  I  have 

nature  and  temperament  Sociable  L^alLl/"' 

perfm,cto,y  call,  upon  hi,  yJoTZi^^" 

P^r.S^.rX^--p=-he?f 
ilie.  or  himself.    No  one  likes'to  play  tSe  „k  o^ 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


■  wet  hlanket.  and  I  can  readily  understand  why 
sonic  good  priests  entirely  eliminate  the  social 
visit  from  their  personal  practice. 

There  are  one  or  two  other  matters  on  which 
I  could  say  a  few  words;  but  they  will  probably 
be  mentioned  by  my  fellow-critic  or  some  other 
member  of  the  Conference;  so,  beyond  congratu- 
lating Father  Ferguson  on  his  judicious  treatment 
of  the  general  subject.  I  need  say  no  more. 

The  Dea/i.-Father  Harris,  your  observations 
are  now  in  order.  As  one  of  the  younger  clergv-. 
representing  the  curates  in  a  manner,  you  wHl, 
I  feel  assured,  be  listened  to  with  interest  and 
pleasure. 

P'other   Harri$:-Vm    inclined    to    think.  Mr. 
Chairman    that  I  might  plead  my  comparative 
youth  and  mexperience  as  a  reason  for  not  tak- 
mg  any  part  save  that  of  a  listener  in  this  dis- 
cussion.    It    can    hardly    be    expected    that    we 
curates  can  add  anything  of  practical  utility  to 
the  elucidation  of  a  subject  so  ably  treated  by  our 
seniors  who  have  already  spoken.     If  I  were  to 
offer  any  suggesUon  at  all  to  our  elders  among 
the  clergy  as  to  the  matter  of  social  visiting  by 
their  juniors,  it  would  be  that  a  good  many  of 
what  a  pastor  may  consider  the  superfluous  visits 
of  h's  curate  could  be  done  away  with  if  the  pas- 
tor took  a  really  fatherly  interest  in  that  curate 
and  endeavored  to  make  his  home  life  pleasant 
and  genial.    While  my  own  lot  during  my  eight 
years  as  assistant  has  been  a  happv  one  in  this 
respect.  I  know  fellow- curates  who  spend  much 
perhaps  too  much,  of  their  Ume  with  lay  friends 


i>    ' 


In 


140 


CLEBICAL  COLLOQUIES 


..  i 


for  the  same  reason  that  some  husbands  pass  a 

--the  unattractiveness  of  their  home  life.    Young 
men  need  sympathy  more  than  do  their  elders 
and  If  they  don't  find  it  in  the  rectory  [hey  a"' 
very  apt  to  look  for  it  elsewhere.     This  cravfna 

and  particularly  young  priests,  are  men  rathe^ 

e^emr''*'  """f  '  ""^  ^'  **^^  °P^°*°°  «^«*.  ^^  'ome 
exemplary  pastors  would  look  at  the  matter  from 

toeir  assistants'  viewpoint,  and  take  a  little  W 

fo'whichT'*'  *'f  '"°^'^°^«^  -  discouragement 
o  which  the  assistants  may  occasionally  be  sub- 

he^.?r  '^^"i**/'  "**  ^P'-^^^d  atmosphere  in 
the  rectory,  and  fewer  useless,  not  to  say  danger- 
ous, visits  paid  to  parishioners  * 

to  thoL"!.?  ^^  permitted  to  proffer  a  bit  of  advice 
to  hose  of  my  own  age,  I  should  counsel  them  to 

ITlTL""'^  ""  f '  '^™"^«  -'  *«  parish   hi' 

mother  a^'tH  °^  '"'^  ^'P'^^*^  family.-fa'ther. 
mother,   and   the  younger  children,  as   well   as 

my":;"n^^^^^^  Brief  as  hrieen 

my  personal  experience  it  has  sufficed  to  con- 

2Z  SVe'be'  Sood-looking  young  priesir  e^^t 
cialiy  ,f  he  be  a  fine  singer  or  a  skilled  pianist 
needs  an  excepUonal  amount  of  the  circumspec- 
tion counselled  by  Father  Downey.    And  the  un- 

round  of  Visits  is  no  guarantee  that  an  intercourse 
begun  perhaps  by  a  conversation  about  spTrS 
matters,  will  not  eventually  degenerate  fnto  «n 
mhmacy  so  devoid  of  spiritu'alit/tSaTitVwLlly 
of   the   earth,   earthy."    Those    of    us    whos^ 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


141 


physical  comeliness  is,  like  my  own,  conspicuous- 
ly non-existent,  may  thank  our  stars,  or  our  plain- 
featured  forbears,  that  we  have  fewer  temptations 
to  surmount  than  have  some  of  our  handsome 
fellow-priests.  Let  me  say  in  conclusion  that  I 
enjoyed  Father  Ferguson's  paper  very  much,  and 
hope  to  profit  by  its  wise  counsels. 

The  Dean:~The  appointed  commentators  hav- 
ing spoken,  the  question  is  now  open  for  discus- 
sion by  any  member  of  the  Conference.  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  hear  from  any  one  who  has  sugges- 
tions to  make  or  questions  to  ask. 

Father  Moran.—I  should  like,  Mr.  Chairman, 
to  hear  Father  Ferguson's  opinion  on    he  proper 
pnestly  practice  as  regards  visiting  two  categories 
of  fnends,— one's  brother-priests,  and  Sisters. 
T  ♦1,^''/^^''  ^^''fl'"**'"-— As  for  one's  fellow-priests, 
1  think  that,  as  a  rule,  once  a  week  is  not  too  often 
and  once  a  month  is  not  often  enough.     Apart 
from   considerations   of   warm   friendship,   con- 
geniahty  of  tastes,  etc.,  one  should  bear  in  mind 
that  a  visit  paid  to  a  neigboring  pastor  or  curate 
IS  very  often  a  veritable  act  of  charity  worth  a 
good  deal  more  to  the  recipient  than  tiie  visitor 
may  ever  realize.   With  regards  to  Sisters,  my  own 
practice  wiUi  the  dozen  devoted  Religious  who 
teach  m  my  school  is  to  pay  them  a  friendly  call 
m  their  recreation-room  once  a  week,  if  at  all  pos- 
sible.     I  like  to  think  tiiat  my  presence  among 
them  IS  welcomed  and  that  the  interest  I  show  in 
their  work  and  my  appreciation  of  their  self-sac- 
rifice constitute  one  of  the  very  few  pleasures 
available  to  Uiem  in  their  unworldly  lives.     So 


m 

I? 
(A    " 

'H 

(v.. 


142 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I 


1; 


far  as  visits  to  particular  Sisters  are  concerned, 
their  rules  very  generally  prohibit  the  solus  cum 
sola  interview;  and  where  exceptional  cases  oc- 
cur, it  is  a  wise  plan,  to  my  mind,  to  make  the 
call  a  brief  one,  and  while  it  lasts  to  do  and  say 
nothing  that  would  render  incongruous  the  Sis- 
ter's asking  at  its  close:  "Pray,  give  me  your 
blessing.  Father." 

Father  Doyle:— While  I  quite  agree  with  the 
last  speaker  in  his  estimate  of  our  Sisters  in  gen- 
eral, and  while  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Purga- 
tory of  the  least  perfect  among  them  will  be  con- 
siderably briefer  than  my  own,  I  think  it  is  worth 
while  to  remark  that  Sisters,  no  more  than  priests, 
are  angels.    They  themselves  would  be  the  first 
to  acknowledge  that  they  are  subject  to  human 
frailties,  and  to  deprecate  the  notion  that  they 
have    abeady    attained    the   perfection    towards 
which  they  are  merely  tending.    Now,  one  of  the 
points  as  to  which  an  occasional  Sister,  or,  better, 
an  exceptional  Reverend  Mother,  shows  herself 
to  be  thoroughly  human  is  her  failure  to  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  her  position,  exalted  as  it  may 
be  in  her  community,  is  emphaticaUy  and  rad- 
ically inferior  to  tiiat  of  the  youngest  and  least 
brilliant  of   God's   anointed   priests.     We   older 
men  have  personally  known   one  or  two  such 
MoUiers  who,  while  perfectly  willing  in  the  ab- 
stract to  admit  witii  St.  Theresa  tiiat,  as  between 
an  angel  and  a  priest,  Uie  latter  merits  tiie  greater 
reverence,  nevertheless    in  tiieir  concrete  treat- 
ment of  some  younger  members  of  Uie  clergy  as- 
sumed an  attitude  of  superiority  and  condescen- 


THE  PRIEST'S  VISITS 


143 


sion  that  would  have  been  out  of  place  even  in 
an  archbishop  or  a  cardinal. 

I  mention  the  matter  simply  to  emphasize  the 
admirable  sanity  of  another  Reverend  Mother,  a 
typical  religious  Superioress,  who  caused  to  be 
printed  and  distributed  among  her  subjects  a 
striking  paragraph  from  a  sermon  on  the  dignity 
of  the  priest,— a  paragraph  which  contains  a  les- 
son for  all  of  us  in  connection  with  our  general 
demeanor  when  visiUng.  I  have  a  copy  of  the 
clipping  in  my  breviary  here,  and  with  your  pre- 
sumed permission  I  purpose  reading  it:— 

u     V^   wondrous   dignity   of  priests,   in   whose 
hands   the   Son   of  God  is  incarnated,'  says   St. 
C^ypnan.      Wondrous,  indeed,  my  dear  brethren; 
and.  If  dignity  is  to  be  gauged  by  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  power  of  which  it  is  the  concomitant, 
where  on  earth,  let  me  ask,  is  to  be  found  a  difl- 
nitary  so  exalted  as  is  the  humblest  and  lowliest 
recipient  of  Holy  Orders?      If  you  ever  visit  a 
great  mountain  range— the  Alps,  the  Appenines, 
the  Alleghenies,  or  the  Rockies— you  will  see  'Alps 
on  Alps  arise,  peak  towering  above  peak  in  long 
succession  till  the  snow-clad  summit  of  the  top- 
niost  is  lost  far  up  in  the  environing  clouds.    The 
altitudes  of  these  peaks  vary  one  from  another 'by 
some  hundreds  of  feet;  but  the  least  lofty  of  them 
18  thousands  of  feet  higher  than  the  minor  eleva- 
tions that  form  the  foothills  at  their  base,  or  than 
the  mounds  and  hillocks  that  break  the  dead-level 
of  the  plain.    So  with  the  range  of  dignities  at- 
tainable on  earth.    Kings  and  queens,  emperors 
and   presidents;    commanders-in-chief   and    gen- 
erals  of  armies,   admirals   and   commodores   of 
navies;    financial,   political,   literary,   and   social 
magnates;  Brother-Generals  and  Mother-Generals 


J? 


144 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


we*hifl&nHlp^^^e^°"*  commuiiitie8.-aIl  these 
are  niffner  indeed  than  people  on  the  level  nlnin 

l"pri°^"S^  !!i^d  ^iSV*^^^  a?e  W  Sift 
towe?^bo^P  f?^^,^— P'  *°f*  archbishops  who 
lower  afiove  them  m  increasing  altitudes  till  fhp 

?mr5?*;°«xr^"'"°H;  »  reache/in  the  Pope  thi 
S^^wl*^  .y^^^S''  °^  J^esus  Christ.  In  the  matter 
of  dignity,  the  Pope  differs  from  the  Smple^riest 
as  mountainM)eak  from  mountain-peak  the^aS 
fiLw^n^'^*  ^^""  ^'•°°»  ^^  grealSt^mortal  notTn 
fJ?  L?ow/"  "'  ™o»°tain-peak  from  the  foothills 

That,  I  think,  is  something  for  us  to  remember 
habitually  m  our  mtn  course  with  others,  be  they 
brother-priests  Sisters,  or  the  laity  committed  to 
our  spiritual  charge. 

The  Dean:-An  excellent  comment.  Father 
Ooyle,  and  an  appropriate  last  word  in  this  inter- 
esting discussion.  I  trust  tha^  we  shall  all  carry 
away  with  us  an  intensified  resolve  never  to  com- 
promise. ,n  any  degree,  by  the  number,  the  nature, 
or  the  circumstances  of  our  visits,  the  priestly  dig- 
nity with  which  we  have  all  been  invested 


IX 
THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM 

be  ^j:l£z  1^^^^%,%."^  *»"-  *^-«»  t»>o«  ^t 

OINCE  the  supreme  moment  of  life  is  its  last 
»^  one,  and  the  supreme  need  of  the  departing 
soul  IS  the  assurance  that  it  is  in  the  grace  of 
Ood,  the  supreme  function  of  the  pastor  may  well 
be  considered  by  his  spiritual  children  to  be  his 
admmistering  the  Last  Sacraments  and  helping 
the  dying  to  die  well.    The  death  of  an  unbapUzed 
infant  IS  rightly  looked  upon  as  a  sad  misfortune, 
but  that  of  an  unabsolved  adult  may  be  an  in- 
comparably sadder  one.    The  child  will  at  least 
enjoy  natural  happiness  throughout  the  endless 
cycles  of  eternity;  the  adult  may  be  doomed  to 
spend  those  cycles  in  the  woeful  abode  of  the 
reprobate     Even  in  the  case  of  a  good,  practical 
Catholic,  to  die  without  receiving  the  graces  and 
helps  and  consolations  which  the  Church  has  ap- 
pointed for  her  departing  children  is  deemed  an 
irreparable  hardship;  and,  while  it  is  right  and 
wise  to  comfort  the  surviving  relaUves  with  the 
assurance  of  God's  infinite    mercy,  and  to  ex- 

10  145 


«# 
m 


i 


I, 


146 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I 


i 


rfi:i 

■3 


patiate  on  the  obvious  meaning  of  the  text,  "As  a 
man  lives,  so  shall  he  die,"  the  pastor  whose  neg- 
lect has  been  the  cause  of  the  hardship  can 
scarcely  fail  to  say  to  himself:  "Yes,  'as  a  man 
lives,  so  shall  he  die;'  this  child  of  the  Church 
lived  in  the  regular  reception  of  her  sacraments, 
and  woe  unto  me  through  whose  fault  he  died 
without  them  I" 

In  prefacing  what  we  have  to  say  about  the 
priest  in  the  sick-room  with  the  foregoing  consid- 
erations, we  have  no  intecMon  whatever  of  sug- 
gesting that  neglecting  the  sick  and  allowing  one's 
parishioners  to  die  without  the  sacraments  is  at 
all  common  or  other  than  quite  exceptional.    We 
merely  wish  to  emphasize  at  the  outset  the  major 
importance  of  a  priestly  duty  which,  as  it  is  an 
ordinary,  almost  everyday,  occurrence,  may  pos- 
sibly become  in  the  course  of  time  affected  by  the 
routinism    to   be    guarded   against   in    the    per- 
formance of  all  functions  habitually  exercised. 
To  assert  indeed  that  the  Catholic  sick  are  com- 
monly or  even  frequently  neglected  by  their  pas- 
tors would  be  not  only  glaringly  to  misrepresent 
actual  conditions,  but  to  run  counter  to  the  com- 
mon opinion  of  the  world  at  large.  Catholic  and 
non-Catholic.   The  care   and  solicitude   and  de- 
votedness  and,  on  occasion,  the  heroism  displayed 
by  the  priest  in  attending  to  the  sick  or  dying 
members  of  his  flock, — this  is  a  commonplace  of 
conversation  and  of  literature  in  these   United 
States,  as  in  every  other  country  where  due  heed 
is  taken  of  the  counsel  of  St.  James :    "Is  any  man 
sick  among  you?    Let  him  bring  in  the  priests 


w§,\ 


I  ' 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM       147 


of  the  Church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him, 
anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
And  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  man: 
and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up :  and  if  he  be  in 
sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him"  (v.  14,  15).  To 
state  that  here  and  there  throughout  the  country 
may  be  found  occasional  pastors  who  are  more 
or  less  remiss  in  the  matter  of  sick-calls,  and  even 
a  few  whose  remissness  has  actually  brought 
about  the  catastrophe  of  death  without  the  sacra- 
ments, is  merely  to  note  the  exceptions  to  a  rule 
very  generally  prevailing;  and  the  more  seriously 
the  average  pastor  reflects  on  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences of  such  remissness  to  himself  as  well 
as  others,  the  less  likelihood  will  there  be  of  his 
becoming  yet  another  exception  to  the  rule. 

It  is  perhaps  an  obvious  reflection  to  make  on 
this  subject,  that  very  much  of  the  work  of  sick- 
calls  may  be,  and  should  be,  performed  long  prior 
to  the  actual  summons  to  the  sick-room.  If  there 
be  anything  of  wisdom  in  the  advice,  "In  time  of 
peace  prepare  for  war,"  there  is  assuredly  still 
more  good  sense  in  the  counsel,  "In  time  of  health 
prepare  for  sickness."  Even  as  regards  the  ma- 
terial preparation  of  the  sick-room  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  Extreme  Unction,  the  pastor  who 
assumes  that  all  his  people  are  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  various  details  of  that  prepara- 
tion is  very  probably  taking  altogether  too  much 
for  granted.  In  the  course  of  his  instructions  on 
Extreme  Unction,  given,  presumably,  at  least  once 
a  year,  he  need  not  consider  it  at  all  superfluous 
to  inform  his  flock  that  in  the  chamber  where  the 


!'V 


cr-'-a 


148 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


:twh 


sacrament  is  to  be  administered  there  should  be 
a  table  covered  with  a  white  linen  cloth  and  hav- 
ing  upon  It  a  crucifix,  two  lighted  candles,  a  bowl 

o[h.r  f  f'"^  ^°"t«i"in«  holy  water,  a  twig  or 
other  msU-ument  with  which  the  priest  mav 
sprinkle  both  the  room  and  t)  .  bvstand^M 
another  dish  containing  unblessed  wateTltotS; 
and  some  cotton  wool.  It  is  a  great  deal  beUer 
to  ZrT^'^H^'^*'.^*^"^'  instrucUons  from  Zl 
luZ  ?  **".'  P"uP**  °"  ^'•°»"  ^^'  «"«*•  than  to  be 
obliged  to  give  them  just  prior  to  administering 

riedTuT"""**  """^  *^'°  *°  "^"^  ""*"  '^^y "«  "«"- 

♦^^*  ^^'i.  ***®  ''^'"***^  spiritual  preparaUon.  this. 
^.  can  be  effectively  attended^o  in  plaJi  ser^ 
mons  or  catechetical  instructions.    The  man  or 
woman  who  has  heard  time  and  Ume  again  7t 
Uon  o  F  ?"*  '\^^^^'^  of  postponing  the%ecep. 
ram.n,^        ™!  ^"^*^°"  "°"*  *^  l«t^  for  the  sa^- 
rrZ       »^  ?'°**"^^  ^*'  ^""  ^ff^^*'  ^ho  has  been 
frequently  impressed  by  the  consideration  tha" 
when  received  in  due  time,  the  sacrament  not  in-' 
frequently  restores   the  bodily  health;   who  has 
been  repeatedly  warned  that  in  case  of  serious 
llness  the  presence  of  the  spiritual  physician  is 
immeasurably  more  necessary  than  ^Iha    of  the 
family  doctor.-such  a  man  or  woman  is  far  more 

th„„^-  'V  °°  *^'  P""^^P^^'  "«oul.safety  fi^' 

hams  the  average  Catholic  who.  from  year's  "nd 

to  years  end.  never  hears  a  word  on  the  pre-em^ 

?rV°;r'*^f^  °^  *^"  immediate  preparatSn 
^r  death.  Apart  from  specific  instrucUons  on 
the  last  sacraments,  occasional  sermons  on  the 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-BOOM       149 


eternal  truths  are  also  of  immense  help  in  facili- 
tatmg  the  pastor's  work  in  his  actual  ministra- 
Uons  to  the  sick  and  the  dying.    Let  it  be  added, 
incidentally,  that,  as  a  rule,  insistence  on  these  ter- 
rifying truths  may  more  congruously  characterize 
the  pnests  sermons  in  church  than  his  instruc- 
Uons  at  the  death-bed.    It  is  tolerably  safe  to  sup- 
pose that  the  devil  will  not  fail  to  suggest  to  the 
dying  Christian  every  consideration  calculated  to 
make  him  despair  of  God's  mercy:  the  pastor's 
office  is  to  thwart  satan's  designs  and  to  set  forth 
the  infinitude  of  goodness  resident  in  that  Heaven- 
ly Father  who  wills  not  the  death  of  the  sinner, 
tout  rather  that  he  be  converted  and  live     There 
may  of  course  be  cases  in  which  the  attitude  of 
the  dying  person  is  more  nearly  allied  to  pre- 
sumption than  to  despair;  and  then,  reference  to 
the  enormity  of  sin  and  the  dread  consequences 
of  unrepented  sin  may  well  find  its  place. 

11  !?  ***^  ^^'^^  ^^°*^'  "  ^^^^  scarcely  be  stated, 
ail  the  sermons  and  instrucUons  of  the  pastor,  as 
well  as  all  his  activities  in  culUvaUng  the  spiritu- 
ahty  of  his  flock,-his  organizing  sodalities  and 
confraternities,  his  fostering  special  devotions,  his 
promotion  of  attendance  at  daily  Mass  and  fre- 
quent or  daily  Communion,  etc.— are  in  reality  a 
senes  of  remote  preparations  for  the  last  hour  of 
each  and  every  parishioner's  life;  and,  obviously, 
the  more  multiplied  are  these  activities  and  the 
more  zeal  he  evinces  in  persuading  his  people  to 
subordinate  the  natural  to  the  supernatural  and 
hve  by  faith  raUier  than  by  sight,  the  less  diffi- 
culty  will  he  experience  in  getting  them  to  pre- 


'X}    ■■ 

•if       i 


Bi 


m 


■    iiiP 


!    $■■ 


■ii'- 


150 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


serve  the  proper  attitude  and  take  the  proper  pre- 
cautions in  time  of  sickness,  and  the  more  blessed 
will  be  his  ministraUon  when  the  sickness  be- 
comes mortal.  It  is  axiomatic  indeed  that  the 
most  consoling  and  most  adequately  effective  sick- 
calls  are  those  made  by  a  thoroughly  pious  and 
xealous  pastor  on  spiritual  children  who  have 
learned  to  reverence  and  love  him  as  a  veritable 
father,  a  priest  after  Christ's  own  heart.  The  bet- 
ter the  priest  and  the  more  efficient  his  general 
ministry,  the  easier  his  sick-calls. 

To  turn  to  the  more  practical  and  concrete  side 
of  the  priest's  attendance  on  his  sict:  to  begin 
with,  if  he  is  to  do  them  fuU  justice,  his  services 
must  be  attainable  whenever  they  are  needed: 
and,  as  they  may  be  needed  at  any  time,  it  fol- 
lows that  at  all  Umes  the  pastor  should  be  acces- 
sible, gettable,  or,  as  the  modem  locution  has  it, 
get-at-able.    An  obvious  corollary  of  this  princi- 
ple is  that  the  pastor  is  bound  in  conscience  not 
to  leave  his  parish  for  an  unknown  destination 
without  previously  arranging  with  some  brother 
priest  that  the  latter  will  attend  to  such  calls  as 
may  occur  during  his  absence,  and  without  noti- 
fying his  parishioners  of  the  arrangements  made 
To  the  neglect  of  this  self-evidently  -    se  precau- 
tion is  beyond  doubt  due  the  greater  number  of 
such  deaUis  without  tiie  sacraments  as  do  occur 
from  time  to  time.      The  occurrence  of  even  one 
of  tiiem  among  his  flock  should  serve  as  an  en- 
tirely effective  warning  to  any  pastor  not  to  run 
Uie  risk  of  letting  so  deplorable  an  event  happen 
again  through  any  ne^gence  on  his  part;  pnd 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM       151 


■hould  accordingly  either  lessen  the  number  of 
his  absences  from  home  or  ensure  his  replace- 
ment by  another  priest.  To  object  that,  after  all, 
a  pastor  is  not  a  slave  or  a  prisoner  to  be  re- 
stricted to  the  narrow  confines  of  his  pastoral  dis- 
trict, is  clearly  to  beg  the  question.  He  is  a  pas- 
tor, not  for  his  own  benefit  or  comfort,  but  for 
the  service  of  his  flock;  attendance  on  them  in 
their  spiritual  need  is  the  very  raison  d'itre  of  his 
being  a  pastor  at  all;  and  no  flippant  ignoring  of 
his  duty  towards  them  will  avail  to  rid  him  of 
his  responsibility  before  God,  or,  presumably,  ex- 
cuse him  in  the  eyes  of  his  ordinary. 

Even  when  at  home,  however,  not  all  pastors 
are  so  readily  accessible  as  they  night  well  show 
themselves  to  be.  Housekeepers  of  priests, 
whether  coached  for  the  purpose  or  not,  ure  oc- 
'^asionally  prone  to  minimize  the  seriousness  of 
a  sick-call  that  comes  at  a  time  when  the  priest 
is  enjoying  a  meal  or  a  smoke  or  a  siesta,  and 
take  it  upon  themselves  to  postpone  notifying  him 
of  the  call  until  he  is  quite  disengaged.  As  is  evi- 
dent, such  action  may  readily  result  in  the  pas- 
tor's arriving  in  the  sick-room  too  late  to  be  of 
genuine  service.  While  it  is  doubtless  true  that 
many  a  call  upon  the  priest  exposes  him  to  in- 
convenience and  fatigue  and  broken  sleep  with- 
out the  slightest  real  necessity,  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  judicious  pastor  never  assumes  that  be- 
cause nine  sick-calls  have  proven  to  be  unneces- 
sary, the  tenth  can  safely  be  allowed  to  wait  upon 
his  greater  convenience.  Present  discomfort  may 
be  acute,  but  it  is  a  good  deal  more  bearable  than 


'il 


Si:  .. 

•X  i 
1 - 

!<- 

■  f 

ri 

'A 

n 

■; 

i  ■       s 


l\i 


152 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


the  future  rcmowc  that  may  well  result  from  the 
discomfort's  being  avoided. 

It  if  nothing  to  the  credit  of  a  pastor  that  an 
ailing  member  of  his  flock,  on  being  urged  to 
send  for  the  priest."  can  truthfully  allege  a^  a 
reason  for  declining  to  do  so:    "You  know  how 
Father  Blank  dislikes  to  be  called  unless  there  is 
real   necessity."      The  more   lax   and   negligent 
among  Catholics,  and  hence  those  who  have  most 
need  of  their  pastor's  ministr    ions,  are  precisely 
those  who  are  least  willing  to  admit  the  gravity  of 
their  illness;  and  it  woi  '.j  be  supremely  regret- 
table if  that  pastor's  w  ul-known  impatience  and 
Irritability  and  ill-huiiior  at  being  summoned  to 
cases  not  really  dangerous  should  give  some  color 
of  reason  to  their  refusal  to  have  him  called  in. 
As  between  undue  hastiness  and  inordinate  de- 
lay in  sending  for  the  priest,  the  former  is  as- 
suredly the  lesser  evil;  and  an  exemplary  father 
of  souls  will  be  chary  of  showing  that  he  considers 
It  an  evil  at  all.    Many  a  priest  who  is  striving 
heroically  to  imbue  his  indifferent  people  with 
the  true  religious  sense  would  be  only  too  happy 
to  have  Ihem  insUnctively  turn  to  him  whenever 
the  hand  of  sickness  or  pain  arrests,  or  deflects, 
the  normal  tenor  of  their  careless  lives. 

As  a  matter  of  actual  practice,  truly  zealous 
and  devoted  parish  priests  are  so  far  from  ob- 
jecting to  the  frequency  with  which  they  are  sum- 
moned to  the  sick-room  that  they  habitually  make 
their  appearance  there  of  their  own  initiative 
without  waiUng  for  a  summons.  And,  given  that 
a  priest  in  charge  of  souls  is  reaUy  their  spiritual 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM       163 


father,  it  can  hardly  be  urged  that  such  acUon  U 
at  all  abnormal  or  sirange.    He  would  indeed  be 
rather  an  abnormal  father  were  he  to  act  other- 
wise.    In  ordinary  Christian  households  the  father 
of  the  family  assuredly  docs  not  wait  until  one 
of  his  children  is  in  danger  of  death  before  pay- 
ing it  a  visit  and  testifying  his  love  and  sym- 
pathy; and  surely  Catholics  who  habitually  call 
their  pastor  "Father*'  may  reasonably  expect  from 
him  some  measure  of  the  like  paternal  solicitude 
and  care.     We  have  sometimes  thought  that  a  not 
undesirable  feature  of  a  man's  training  for  the 
office  of  pastor  might  well  be  a  sickness  almost 
unto  death.    Personal  experience  of  the  pain  and 
languor  and  weakness  and  weariness  that  accom- 
pany serious  illness  would  beyond  doubt  prove 
an  excellent  preparative  for  one  of  his  most  com- 
mon   and    most    important    pastoral    functions. 
Wanting  such  experience,  he  should  at  least  ex- 
ercise his  imagination  to  the  extent  of  following 
the  homely  advice,  "put  yourself  in  his  place." 
His  doing  so  would  materially  affect  both  the  fre- 
quency of  his  visits  to  the  afflicted  ones  of  his  flock 
and  the  tenor  of  his  conduct  and  conversation 
when  sitting  by  their  bedside. 

Apropos  of  sympathy  for  the  sick,  it  is  scarce- 
ly too  much  to  say  that  in  our  day  some  c*"  those 
who  have  most  need  of  it  get  little  or  none,  even 
from  their  well-meaning  pastors.  Within  the  last 
few  decades  nervous  diseases  in  an  ever-increas- 
ing variety  of  forms  have  become  alarmingly  com- 
mon, and  outside  of  the  medical  profession  are 
very  little  understood.    In  all  probability  the  mis- 


4*1 


^ 


■ 


154 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


take   of  diagnosing   all  neurasthenics   as   hypo- 
chondriacs, a  custom  rather  general  even  among 
physicians  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  is  still  made 
by  the  majority  of  such  priests  as  are  unfamiliar 
with  works  on  pastoral  medicine;  and  the  mistake 
may  work  sad  havoc  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
nervously  afflicted.   Father  Ansehn  Ricker,  O.S.B., 
puts  the  matter  mildly  when  he  says,  in  his  "Pas- 
toral  Psychiatry":     "A   priest  who    has   gained 
psychiatric  knowledge  will  be  kind  and  prudent 
in  dealing  with  the  mentally  afflicted,  and  will 
save  many  a  man  [and,  a  fortiori,  many  a  woman] 
from  great  misfortune."    So,  too,  Dr.  A.  E.  San- 
ford,  in  his  "Pastoral  Medicine":    *That  a  knowl- 
edge of  morbid  conditions  growing  out  of  neuras- 
thenia is  highly  valuable  not  only  to  the  physi- 
cian, but  also  to  the  educator,  teacher,  lawyer,  and 
not  in  the  lowest  degree  to  the  priest,  goes  with- 
out saying."    There    are    unfortunately  spiritual 
as  well  as  material  pills,  of  the  prescription  of 
which  one  may  say,  with  Felix  Holt  in  one  of 
George  Eliot's  novels,  "Ignorance  is  not  so  dam- 
nable as  humbug,  but  when  it  prescribes  pills  it 
may  happen  to  do  more  harm." 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing 
is  not,  of  course,  that  the  ordinary  priest  should 
possess  all  the  knowledge  congruous  to  a  compe- 
tent physician;  but  rather  that  he  should  either 
make  some  study  of  pastoral  medicine,  or  else 
show  exceptional  kindness  and  patience  with  such 
of  his  sick  as  suffer  from  mental  troubles  which 
he  cannot  understand.  It  is  pertinent  to  add  that 
what  the  Church  forbids  to  her  clergy  in  this  mat- 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE   SICK-ROOM       155 

ter  is  the  practice  of  medicine,  not  its  knowledge. 
The  fact  is  that,  without  at  least  some  medical 
knowledge,  various  problems  of  moral  theology 
cannot  be  adequately  solved;  and  hence  medico- 
theological  subjects  are  discussed  with  reason- 
able thoroughness  in  many  seminaries,  not  to  say 
all  of  them.  As  regards  mental  maladies,  how- 
ever, medical  science  has  made  many  strides  since 
the  middle-aged  reader  of  this  page  completed  his 
seminary  course;  and  if  he  has  not  supplemented 
that  course  by  subsequent  study  or  reading  on  the 
various  forms  of  neurosis,  he  probably  Incks  the 
full  equipment  of  a  thoroughly  competent  con- 
fessor and  a  prudent  adviser  of  some  at  least  of 
his  sick.  The  subject  is  so  practical,  and  withal 
so  interesting,  that  we  make  no  apology  for  quot- 
ing here  several  lengthy  passages  dealing  there- 
with. 

Speaking  of  the  mental  suffering  to  be  found 
in  compulsory  thoughts,  compulsory  notions,  and 
compulsory  conditions  in  general,  Dr.  Sanford 
says: 

"Hansjakob,  a  German  author,  has  forcefully 
described  the  power  exercised  by  the  compulsory 
images  over  the  morbidly  irritable  soul.  We  may 
believe  what  he  tells  of  it  in  his  book,  'Days  of 
2»ickness,  for  he  is  relating  his  own  personal  ex- 
penence:  *Let  him  who  has  never  been  aflOicted 
with  compulsory  notions  thank  God  and  his  good 
nerves  for  not  knowing  these  furies,  against  whom 
will  and  reason  are  equally  powerless.  Compul- 
sory noUons  are  for  soul  and  mind  what  lashes 
are  for  the  body,  only  lashes  are  as  balm  com- 
pared with  those  illusions,  because  mental  suf- 


"  '1 

k 


> 


■   i 


Ill 


156 


OLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


:t\'. 

ilk 
I' 

■ 


1  Hi 


ferings,  mental  tortures  are  in  general  more  hurt- 
ful and  tantalizing  than  physical  pains.* 

"Of  course,  he  who  has  never  had  occasion  to 
observe  this  ailment  in  its  entire  depth  and  broad- 
ness, and  to  watch  it  in  its  course,  will  be  readily 
at  hand  with  judgment  that  can  only  be  wrong, 
or  with  advice  that  fails  to  help.  At  best  the  un- 
initiated will  counsel  the  a£Dicted  to  try  to  ban- 
ish those  stupid,  silly,  ridiculous  thoughts.  The 
unfeeling  ignoramus  will  make  the  cutting  re- 
mark. That  man  is  crazv  and  oug^t  to  be  m  an 
asylum.*  Ano.ther  will  find  it  incomprehensible 
why  those  thoughts,  together  with  the  impulse 
they  give  to  perverse  actions,  might  not  be  over- 
come by  exerting  the  will-power.  The  well- 
meaning  spiritual  adviser  who,  though  well-mean- 
ing, is  unacquainted  with  this  condition,  will  say, 
perhaps.  These  are  nothing  but  temptations  and 
distractions,  which  ought  to  be  despised.*  The 
latter  view  is  the  more  readily  formed,  because 
these  compulsory  notions  often  present  them- 
selves in  the  false  garb  of  temptations,  and  prove 
the  more  irritating,  confusing,  and  alarming  the 
more  they  concern  themselves  with  vital  questions 
of  religious  life  and  the  more  they  harass  moral 
Qotions.** 

Such  language  as  this,  coming  from  a  physi- 
cian of  acknowledged  competency  and  prestige, 
may  well  give  pause  to  the  inconsiderate  clergy- 
man who  disposes  of  all  such  cases  with  the 
oracular,  if  offhand,  remark  tb^.t  a  little  com- 
mon sense  is  all  that  is  needed  in  treating  them. 
He  will  best  display  his  common  sense  by  dis- 
trusting his  ability  to  diagnose  such  cases  cor- 
rectly, and  by  consulting  authoritative  works  deal- 
ing with  neurosis  and  its  multifarious  ramifica- 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM       157 


tions.      One  such  work  with  which  the  reader  is 
possibly  unacquainted    was    published,  with  the 
Westmister  imprimatur,  two  or  three  years  ago, 
"Spiritual  Director  and  Physician."    It  is  a  trans- 
lation, by  Dom  Aloysius  Smith,  C.R.L.,  from  the 
French  of  Father  V.  Raymond,  O.P.,  and  deals 
with   the   spiritual   treatment  of  suflFerers   from 
nerves  and  scruples.    A  circumstance  which  gives 
notable  value  to  the  work  is  that  its  author  knows 
at  first  hand  whereof  he  speaks.      Dr.  Masquin 
testifies:    "When  I  first  met  Father  Raymond  in 
Germany,  he  was  in  a  most  critical  state  of  neuro- 
sis, and  he  is  consequently  well  able  to  under- 
stand the  physical^  and  moral  torture  which  fills 
with  despair  those  unfortunate  people  who  are 
so  affected."    Apart  from  his  personal  experience. 
Father  Raymond,  as  chaplain  to  the  Kneipp  In- 
stitute  at  Woerishofen  (Bavaria)  for  a   decade 
and  a  half  of  years,  has  received  the  confidences 
of  thousands  of  nervous  patients  who  have  trav- 
eled from   all  parts   of   Uie  world   to   take   the 
Woerishofen  treatinent.    Obviously,  therefore,  he 
is  fairly  competent  to  discuss  nervous  ailment} 
with  something  more  than  a  dilettante's  scioJ:-:.n; 
and  it  is  not  extravagant  to  affirm  that  the  aver- 
age   confessor   or   spiritual    director   will    learn 
something  new  from  an  attentive  perusal  of  his 
pages,— sometiiing  new  and  thoroughly  useful  as 
well. 

One  declaration  of  this  Dominican  priest- 
physician  it  may  be  worth  while  to  reproduce,  as 
U  is  really  of  wider  scope  than  he  assigns  to  it: 
"It  may  be  said  tiiat  if  psychoUierapy  is  Uie  basis 


> 

i: 


ill: 


158 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


|l  w 


fir 


of  the  correct  treatment  of  neurosis,  kindness  is 
the  basis  of  psychotherapy.      It  holds  the  place 
of  humility  among  the  viHues;  it  is  the  founda- 
tion, and  as  there  is  no  real  virtue  without  hu- 
mility, neither  is  there  any  system  of  treatment 
of  these  ailments  without  kindness."     That  prin- 
ciple may  very  properly  be  acted  upon  by  a  pas- 
tor in  all  sorts  of  sickness,  whether  of  mind  or 
body.     Kindness  is  the  one  quasi-remedy  with 
which  we  may  all,  be  our  medical  knowledge 
great  or  little,  bring  solace  to  the  sufferers  whom 
it  is  our  duty  to  attend.    Kindness  in  visiting  them 
frequently,  genUeness  and  patience  in  supporting 
their  ofttimes  wayward  humors,  unfailing  ten- 
derness in  winning  them  to  resignation  to  the 
holy  will  of  God,  and  an  unmistakable  desire  to 
do  them  all  the  good  in  our  power,— this  is  within 
the  competency  of  every  pastor  and  should  sure- 
ly characterize  them  aU.    It  is  weU-nigh  superflu- 
ous to  add  that  virtue  is  never  more  manifestly 
its  own  reward  than  in  the  case  of  priestly  kind- 
ness to  the  sick.    It  is  the  experience  of  all  who 
have  reached  middle  life  or  old  age  that  this 
specific  form  of  charity  does  indeed  cover  a  mul- 
titude of  sins.    Manifold  as  may  be  a  pastor's  im- 
perfections,—harshness,    impatience,    irritability, 
or  other  faults  of  temper  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of 
life;  an  autocratic  or  domineering  spirit  in  the 
government  of  his  parish;  partiality  or  favoritism 
m  his  treatment  of  his  flock;  continual  nagging 
about  money;   want  of  punctuality  in   keeping 
church    or   social    ippointinents;    unbusinesslike 
habits;  or  even  unpriestiy  fondness  for  comforts 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THE  SICK-ROOM       159 


■,'H 


and  luxuries,-all  Uiese  are  apparently  oflfset  and 

M^^^°C^1  'f  '^  '*  ^«°  truthfuUy  be  said  of 
oim:  Well,  there's  one  thing  about  Father  X- 
no  priest  could  possibly  be  kinder  than  he  is  to  his 

To  revert  for  a  moment  to  the  nervously  af- 
fected, here  is  an  interesUng  and  somewhat  sur- 

L™;:fthinir  °' '""  ^^-  ^«^'' « ^'^^-^^^  - 

«„^*I^®r°"2.^f®J'°®*«  "  '*>und  under  an  aoDear- 
H^no'l^^''^*'*  ^^«"**-  P««ents  get  venPSftUe 
sympathy   on   account   of  their  ii?itabilitv    the 

tZ'^^^^^^^'T  «°d  various  aspectsTf  their  symp- 

S^^cti^r.'VE-*  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^"  «°d  show  pTe™?sr 
oi  activity:  their  appearance  is  healthv    rohiwY 

twiVSS'^"'-      "  "»«y  J>e  that  they  Sow  stout 

Th^y*a?eTnSS;rr*~"^*^  ^ws  ^mSrserioSs. 
iney  are  known  to  increase  in  weight  whilsi  nil 
J:ouble  of  the  digestive  organs  chaLges  to  an  at 
fliction  of  the  brain  or  the%>inrffie  changes 
itfeive  everybody,  including  the  doctS^  and  i5s? 
fr  *«y  °eed  most  sympathy  the?  g?t'th?  leist 
A  doctor  who  once  came  fo  viJit  me  faDDened  to 
pass  through  the  patients*  waiting-rooTlSd  rl 
marked  that  all  my  patients  looked  Ske  Sante" 
As  a  matter  of  fact.  I  then  had  some  seriouf  casei 
of  nervous  prostration.     It  cannot  be  toi  Xn 

Ifr^^fl  ^  '"^^  ™«y  ^^  °f  robust^n^itStioS 
and  yet  his  nervous  system  may  be  as  weak  as 

slSj-bed/n  '*^'*'"'"^  ^'^  ^*^°  "  always^on  he? 

Is  it  too  much  to  say  Uiat  such  statements  as 
this  may  well  determine  confessors  and  priestly 
™to«  of  the  sick  to  be  slow  in  deciding  th"^ 

»  SpirihMl  Direetor  and  Pkyticiam.  p.  30*. 


leo 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


II 


the  lUs  of  some  of  their  penitents  are  purely  im- 

toul7'  J'yf^^^'^^^l^^dSe  of  nervouT maladies 
would  probably  result  in  an  increase  of  priestly 
kindness  and  sympathy,  and  a  consequent  nota- 
ble amelioraUon  m  the  condiUon  of  the  sufferers. 

facahty  to  parish  priests,  and  about  which  there 

fhli^"  *°T  ^^^°«^  ^  ">^  opinions  of  sound 
theolo^ans  ->f  late  years,  is  the  question  of  real 
life  and  apparent  death.    Just  when  life  actually 
ceases  and  death  actually  supervenes  is  obviously 
a  matter  of  prime  importance  to  the  priest  who 
attends  sick-calls,  because,  according  to  the  com- 
mon opinion  of  Catholic  moralists,  the  slightest 
probabihty  of  the  presence  of  life  warrantV  the 
administering  of  the  sacraments  to  a  dying  per- 
son.     The  basis  of  the  opinion  is  of  course  that 
«ie  probability  of  life  means   the  possibHity  o 
being  saved,  and  the  moribund  has  a  right  to  what 
IS  necessary  for  salvation.    It  is  a  cas!  L  wWch 
one  may  safely  act   on   the   theological   adage 
Sacramenta  sunt  propter  homines,  non  homines 
propter  sacramenta.    Now.  ever  since  the  Span- 
ish Jesmt.  Father  Ferreres.  something  more  «ian 
a  decade  ago.  asked  the  Catholic  medical  society 
of  Barcelona  the  Academy  of  Saints  Cosmas  and 
Damian.  to  give  him  its  opinion  as  to  the  differ 

DubLhir'^J'"^  r*'.  '^PP"^^"*  ^^^*»»'  «°d  then 
pubhshed  m  the  ecclesiastical  review,  Razon  u  Fe 

both  «ie  society's  answer  and  the  results  of  his 

own  study  of  the  subject,  it  has  been  ver^  ge„e 

logians  as  well  that  the  moment  of  real  death^ 


THE  PRIEST  IN  THR  SICK-ROOM 


161 


c^nriderably  later  than  it  was  formerly  supposed 

The  limits  of  the  present  essay  preclude  any- 
thing more  than  a  very  brief  summa?y  of  the  con- 

DeaS  "^n^*        •  ""^^f  .  '*"^y'  '"r**^  Moment  of 
Death     forms  an  appendix  to  Sanford's  "Pastoral 
Medicine";  but  the  reader  will  find  the  matter  dis 
o^Ihl  l^Tr«J>^^^-gth  in  a  former  volume 
Of  the  Am.  Eccl.  Review.    For  our  oresent  n..r 
I«»e  i,  will  perhaps  suffice  .o  state  ,C   he  only 
really  certain  sign  of  death  is  decomposition  of 
the  whole  body,  and  a  somewhat  advanced  staBe 
of  decomposition  at  that.    Partial  decomplsft^^t! 
It    s  pomted  out,  may  be  caused  by  gMiirene 
which   precedes    death.      The   stoppage  Tthe 
breatt,  and  of  the  beart-beats  gives  no  assurance 
that  there  is  no  latent  life  in  the  body:    centuriM 
«go  Galen  taught  thai  there  could  be  a  bJaZ 
of  the  heart  and  a  respiration  so  slight  as  noi  to 
be  perceptible,  yet  strong  enough  sUlI  to  preserve 
life.      Livid  spoU  on  the  body  may  be  due  to 
asphyxia  operating  prior  to  de':,th.  "^The  change 

ant  ;1""k'""=\"">'  ^  ""^  '<•  ™dden  irreSS! 
lanty  m  the  heart-beaU.  Even  the  rigidity  ofX 
body  IS  not  a  certain  sign  that  life  is  quite  ext  net 
such  rigidity  precedes  the  death  of  those  aHaSed 
Jy  »P«™»-  '«*jaw,  and  asphyxia.  As  for  the 
oldUme  tests  of  the  candle  or  mirror  placed  near 

mey  are  of  httle  importance  nowadays.  Pre- 
mising that  the  period  of  latent  life  is  probablv 
longer  m  the  case  of  sudden  deaths  than'^n  those 


.'1 


M 


ie2 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


following  a  lengthy  illness,  let  us  quote  the  con- 
clusion of  the  writer  just  mentioned:  "So  long 
as  we  have  any  douht  about  the  presence  of  total 
decomposition,  it  is  probable  that  we  should  ad- 
mmister  conditionally  tiie  sacraments  which  may 
be  the  only  possible  means  of  bringing  Uie  subject 
to  heaven.'*  ' 

As  a  cuhninating  reflection  on  this  whole 
theme  ttiat  we  have  been  treating:  Happy  tiie 
pastor  whose  conscience  gives  him  the  assurance 
toat  the  hours  of  his  own  last  ilhiess  wiU  not  be 
disturbed  by  terrifying  memories  of  want  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  afflicted  in  mind  or  body,  of  sick- 
calls  neglected,  and  of  inadequate  or  perfunctory 
service  rendered  in  Uie  sick-room! 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


P-op;r  light  M"di„^.,'^a,M  te^  ?■*  f^  •■  »^' 
world  ud  ita  «Uoremmr  whSh\?^TS     "  '.?"  '""»  o«  Ikio 

^3?„«  .K  "^  ?"'''  «">«"ne<l  an  item  brie™ 
r<^^S^!  T'-  """  '*"»'""'«•'«  with  the  .e„! 

mSS-  ?!,  w"®'  ^°^°y  *«»«  """ng'  very 
much        The  item,  or  this  particular  oari  nf  » 

cau«d  the  casual  Catholic  reader  s^me  m.l^ 
•musement  and  was  put  down  a,  aLuTUkll 
instance  of  the  inepUtude  habituaUy  .how„Tn  ,hJ 
Sh   7'~^5"'«   vocabulaiT   wh'^n    d™crib*g 

to     L  *  "^"^  ••outings"  in  the  ^ven  con- 

lex     he  mere  prefixing  of  such  an  epithet  as  "« 
l.»ou,"  or  -spiritual"  would  have  tran.?„med  a 
luAcrous  word  into  a  peculiarly  feUcitous  Z«.e 

«Sn'"'a°„"."'""'  r '"^"*  "»  '"-"io-  an 
expeoiuon,  a  pleasure-trip;  and  in  a  m<>»«»k     • 

el  sense  it  is  apUy  de«^p?iVrn„t  on?y  ^f  °S t '" 
cepuonal  religious  exe«ises   a,   the' annua'  or 

Itl 


1*1 


164 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUiEfl 


f 


■t^.' 
»<{■ 


him 


vt.'tS 


V  J^-    '''*'^**  "'  """"S  "»'  enjoy.  conrideraMe 

come  bv  i^«':'.""=  weekend,  a  phra.e  whS,  h.. 

dav^iS,  ,'»'"?  '°  '"""'  ""^  P^'^od  from  Fri- 
fM^i^^M  "?'''  ■"""■'"ft    Businew  and  pro- 

H?.m  »   "'"  "'"'  *°"«'>  '»  increasing  numbwi 

length  of  Ume  from  .tore  or  office,  leave  the  noi« 
and  turmo,!  of  the  city  behind  them.  «,d  be,.k" 
lhem.elve.  to  country  house,  or  mountain  W 
let.  or  Ma.ide  resort  for  change  of  air  and  ,  «,« 
•nd  .de«  and  people.    A  cleric'"  spW?u.l  wee^ 

doe.  not.  last  so  long  as  does  the  worldUna'.     In 

*e'we°eLilTo„'r"f''r  'V'  "-'^  "ntS  wi 
me  weekly  hour  of  adoration.    Obligatorv  on  •••rh 

™1*?  V.'k'"'°''«  •°  **  EucharisUc  LeZe  a.  on 
munine^  this  exercise  of  devotion  mav  wpII  ...- 
f-'at  whoVst^'erl^  T'^  mini^t'erTu:;!:?: 

.ace'j;,:^a?  "^^'^1  trvi^if  tl^t^^B^.S 
Sacrament  is  to  the  day,  U,e  hour  of  adorfu^^ 

been  ".""f  Z""*""  "'  "»  twentytfour  houiThave 

may  ti,a,  week  be  tiiough,  inad%U:?;™t;b" 
which  has  not  witnessed  U,e  "riesf,  Citg 


. SPIBITOAL  0CTINQ3  ,95 

rSall:  ""  '"""""  "-"  "">"''■  ChH..  in 
.e./'fa!.htt'''„,'';h!'.'L'  "T!  "  'o  "'O""  Wn- 

.0  ij  a  P'^&U'tTt.tX'^.Trl'S 

one's  self  durinfl  u  rr.»..«„»  Tu  .  u  ^^^    ^^  *«*' 

.ureiy  .pen7arhrur:'we:L''r„":;:r';""'  *'" 
s:7'ar„r^irtrv^"««^^^^^^ 

■cheme  of  We    'Evr^hr""".'"   """  •='"'■=•' 
prie.to  occasionally  And  »  -<»°".  '"«"'<><«cal  of 

•riomatic  to  declare  th«i   hli    ■  I   "  "'""»• 

oflener  than  no,    "aru  llW% ""'rK*^"'    *'""*'" 
and  fervent  »„h  .^.  1.    !  T  '°°'  **  '•'^  devout 

becomr.  the  1«  H  "'k''  "  ■"""  """^  hin«elf 
by  a  ,wf  ™ie7o  at  le«l  ^h  "  •"'.  "•  "'"''  *"•»"=" 
•anctuary  when   hi.   h     "^  ^r"'  P'"'^'«'"««  '°  «he 
The  lack^orseLbl  1     .•°'  ^'''"■'"'<"'  "ri''«. 
valid  rea,o°n  rne^^et^th";  efriri't^" 
difonal  argument  against  omatinsTj,'!  °",f''- 
Lord  when  on  earth  declared  thf.H    u  /'  "'"" 
to  call  sinners  rather  Uian^h^  *  .  ."*  '""'  '^"'"'^ 
and  that  it  was  the  .U       1.1  "i"  '"  "P'nlance, 
need  of  theThysicir.'    °*  ""'  '""'"'y'  »"•»  had 
from  the  TabeS  •  »h  :  ""^  ."^"'^  «'  «"» 
the  most  ferve^™^:  .rm::f  ::;fd  '"ofHisT- "?' 
to  come  to  Him  that  thev  mav  h.  «ii  I      '  P"^"» 
«ith  the  burning  Are  of  S  Ive     '  °""  """' 


H    4 1 


108 


CLBBICAL  C0LL0QUIB8 


ill* 


Without  being  actually  tepid,  however,  a 
priMt  may  conceivably  asacH  that  he  finds  the 
hour  of  adoration  a  tedious,  onerous  exercUe.  un- 
less  indeed  he  utilizes  the  time  in  reciUng  his  of- 

..?K  m  ?  'T"*  ^^^  ™*"'^-    A»  *»«*^«e°  these  two 
subsUtutes  for  genuine  communing  with  Jesus  in 
me  Blessed  Sacrament,  saying  the  beads  is  per- 
haps the  less  objectionable,  if  only  because  it  looks 
MS  like  construcUvely  cheaUng  Our  Lord  out  of 
u      jupposed  to  be  devoted  to  Himself  per- 
i?^^  ^'.u  ^J"  recitation  of  the  office  at  some  time 
during  the  day  is  obligatory,  whether  or  not  one 
makes  on  that  day  his  hour  of  adoraUon;  saying 
•  f  ^!S  "  f "  optional  devotion,  and  it  is  at  least 
intelligible  that  a  man  may  be  so  spiritually  dry 
that  he  feels  driven  to  adore  and  worship  Our 
Lord  by  proxy  reciUng  the  rosary  with  the  intent 

HhnTh!  /»**  ^r  ^^^r  »**°"'*'  graciously  proffer 
!lif  n^  "!\f.«  *?'°PJ«»<^  homage  which  he  him- 
self finds  It  difficult,  if  not  impracticable,  to  ren- 
der.  Such  a  course  is,  we  say,  intelligible,  and  in 
the  case  of  a  layman  is  perhaps  excusable 
enough;  but  surely  there  is  litUe  or  no  excuse  for 
its^adoption  by  an  ordained  priest,  by  "another 

Why  should  there  be  anything  of  the  nature  of 
tediuin  or  weariness  involved  in  one's  passing  a 
short  hour  m  the  presence  of  Our  Lord?  Whv 
should  we  not  find  the  hour  as  delightful  and  as 
bnef  as  we  have  sometimes  perhaps  found  it  irk- 
some and  interminable?    Given  that  wo  are  in  the 

J!LL  i,f  "^'^u^^u  *^onsequenUy  enjoying  Christ's 
friendship,  why  should  our  conversing  wiUi  Him 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINOS 


ler 


b€  (to  demand  only  the  minimum)  less  enjoyable 

Wen/  H^'"  ''•  "*>""*  '^"«**»  P«*«*  »<>  •  »^uman 
S!n5  u*""  ^^  ^**^'''"  «"^  '°^«^  To  the  earthlv 
friend  who  enjoys  our  confidence  and  of  whose 

iHunL'^V^  "?"  """'•"^  ^«  »P^«»'  »♦  no  lit- 
tle length  of  our  hopes  and  fears,  our  jovs  «n<l 

^t.  -n'/rf/ "*'°'  "°^  °"'  misgivings.  oLr  s«c> 
cesses  and  failures,  our  trials  and  consolMion^. 
What  prevents  us  from  doing  likewise  in  the  case 

alrniiam  ,^^"i?*  ««"««>"••  •ympathetic  ai.d  un- 
derstanding of  all  possible  friends?  Who  indeed 
among  our  earthly  friends,  even  the  closest  of 
those  to  whom  we  unbosom  ourselves  most  un- 
reservedly, can  know  and  appreciate  as  He  does 

T^.«5J1'"of  *»»«"«»^*««  desires,  and  affections? 
To  speak  to  Him  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child 
about  those  matters  that  form  fhe  steple  of  our 
daily  thought  and  action  can  assured^  not  L 
other  than  agreeable  to  One  who  has  pronounced 
?eaufs!?e'f  *^  *°  '""^  ^*^"'^^"  «"  indispensable 

hnK^l"Al"'"^t'*  *^"*  unfortunately  many  of  our 
habitual  thoughts  and  affections  and  actions  ar' 
not  of  a  character  pleasing  to  our  Divine  Friend 
we  are  simply  giving  a  reason  for  varying  the 
tenor  of  our  discourse  with  Him  during  our  hour's 
audience,  and  not  at  all  furnishing  a  valid  ex- 
cuse for  neglecUng  that  audience.      If  we  have 

reTtep'at^rH-  *"  **'"  "^-'^  "«'°°  ^^y  ^^  should 
reiterate  to  Him  our  penitential  regrets,  being  en- 

brelyconvmced  that  "a  humble  and  contrite  heart 

He   will   not   despise."    Possibly,  however.-and 


5-)»        ^.| 


168 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


iur  shSc  L^'^'T"^^^  '^"^  paramount  cause  of 
Ourl^rH   ^  a  heart-to-heart  communion  with 

no  imenti^n^^^  ^°  "°*  ''^'^'  °^'  «»<»  have 

Tve  Ldullr  °''  P,""'"""  ""'  habit  in  which  we 
.^A  *  'ru^^^  our8elve8.-unworthy  of  our  sac- 

cr^tr  dtt,  Jk  *!'!***"  ^°  *he  closet,  which  se- 
«  hoLfi  i/^'  ^^"^  *^°"^^**^*^  happiness  of  many 
a  household  joyous  and  tranquil  to  outward  an^ 
pearance.  sometimes  finds  ite  counte^Irt  in  ^a 

rece'ss^s    :?  "I  T'""'^  '°l'^^  ^^^^  «  *he  inner 
recesses    of    a    pnesUy    heart,    and    resolutplv 

shunned  as  often  as  protesUng  conscienre  ,eS^ 

IrJ!"*-  "  '°  "*'  "'"'  ""^^  i^  true  native  and 

moral    import    thoroughly    investigated       Now 

ftere  IS  no  possible  hiding  such  a  fkeleton  Zm 

*e  all-seemg  eye  of  Jesus;  and  the  Icnowled," 

that  an  inUmate  personal  communing  wX  Mm 

wouW  necessitate  some  plain  ,peakin|  rnJsom" 

detenmned  acUon  about  the  matter  may  well T 

plam  why  we  occasionally  dislike  to  ™]I!  •  . 

»-'"»««•  "/-ourse  with^Hlm'ct    rX  th": 

the  soul     •  ■"""'  ""  *°"''  ^h"*-  *«  'hf-rof 

whi^rwe-i-^-iiK^^^^^ 

Planataon  of  the  irksomeuess  wWch    s  J  cot 
aaoration.      Where  no  such  lack  of  generositv 

as  much^r''""""  'P*'""-*  »'  'he  Cr™"^ 
as  much   pleasure   as  profit  should   prove  ».,r 
prnungly  easy  to  a  true  priest,  and  that.'^too,  v^^I 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


169 


out  his  having  recourse  to  books  of  any  kind.  One 
has  only  to  follow  the  counsel  of  the  psalnus% 
quoted  as  a  foreword  to  this  essay:     "Come  let 

to  Gnr  '"'l'''^'''  "'^^  J°y=  '''  us  joyfully  sing 
to  God  our  Saviour.    Let  us  come  into  his  pres- 

w^^'  nl^,  thanksgiving:  and  rejoice  before  H7m 
with  psalms."    Supposing  that  a  priest,  clad  in 

n«^  V"?/****"  «"**  ^"^^^'°«  before  the  Taber" 
nacle.  should  spend  the  full  hour  in  reciting  over 

dren7/„.T?  *^'  ^?°*^'*'  °'  '^^  Three  Chil- 

etc  of  r'f "  ',  T"'^  ^^^'•'^  ^^"'^^''  domino. 
etc..  or  psalm  cl.  Laudate  Dominum  in  Sanctis 

fi"''f*  ;' J*""*  ^h^"  ^ay  **^«*  he  has  not  worthilv 
acquitted  himself  of  his  weekly  debt  to  Him  whom 

•Hn?v  hT  V*;°'"  ""'  perpetually  greeUng  with. 
Holy,  holy,  holy:  Lord  God  in  the  highest?" 

nH.  ^*!;^^ip'"*""*  ^^^^^^y «"«"« ^wch  the 

pnest  should  never  neglect,  supposing  that  he 
does  not  make  it.  as  many  exemplary  clerics  do 
adaUy  exercise  of  piety,  is  the  Way^f  the  Cross' 
No  pastor  needs  to  be  instructed  on  the  manS 
advantages  accruing  to  the  devout  performance 
of  this  most  excellent  visual  following  of  ouT  cru! 
cified  Redeemer  along  the  doleful  journey  "o  Cat 

S  to" t  H  V"^'"'  :'«*  «°y  ^«*her  of  soub  neg- 
lects  to  tell  his  people  from  time  to  time  of  the 
unnumbered  indulgences,  applicable  to  the  soLls 

the  cl^r*^;^."^"  ^^  *^  *^^  "-»«  membe"  o 
Som^  no  .  •  **"!*  ^''  ""^'hed  to  "the  Stations." 
Some  pastors,  however,  may  well  be  reminded 
Uiat  such  meditation  on  the  Passion  and  D^aSi  of 
rent  ^*  k'  ^'^  ""avoidably  forms  a  concur- 
rent  activity  of  our  going  around  the  Stations  is 


^'na 


1 


m 


170 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUiEa 


J, 


a  ittW  hil°?'  "'  """^  """'  "'  -other "id" 
deri/  "oh  .h,TT'    •"    "•""^    ineonsiderat 


^?f^^ 


^sa^j«..v- 


.■j»> 


f>^^' 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


171 


phasizes  the  point  in  this  extract  from  The 
Eternal  Priesthood:  "First,  interior  perfection  is 
required  before  ordination  as  a  prerequisite  con- 
dition to  Sacred  Orders;  second,  the  priesthood 
IS  the  state  of  perfecUon;  and  third,  a  priest  is 
bound  to  sustain  himself  in  that  state  and  to  per- 
severe in  it  to  the  end  of  life."  Manning's  doc- 
tnne  is  only  a  corollary  of  that  of  St.  Thomas; 
They  who  are  appointed  to  divine  ministries  at- 
tain to  a  royal  dignity,  and  ought  to  be  perfect 
m  virtue." 

As  a  monthly  spiritual  outing,  then,  a  retreat 
of  one  day  may  be  warmly  urged  on  every  one 
who  has  received  Holy  Orders.     Such  an  outing 
has  the  game  end  or  purpose  as  mental  prayer  in 
general,  of  which,  says  Father  Gtiermann,  it  is 
only  an  extraordinary  e     rcise.    "We  make  a  re- 
tr««t  in  order  to  be  enhghtened;  to  know,  purify, 
and  correct  ourselves;  to  be  united  with  God  and 
to  pray  to  Him;  to  renew  our  spirit;  to  maintain 
ourselves  in  virtue  and  to  increase  in  fervor."    To 
allege  that  one  has  no  time  to  devote  to  such  an 
exercise,    that  parish   business   must   be   looked 
after,  sick-calls  attended  to,   the  school  visited, 
etc.,  etc.,  is  to  urge  pretexts  really  too  puerile  to 
merit  serious  refutation.      How  does  the  parish 
manage  to  get  along  when  we  absent  ourselves 
for  a  day  or  two  to  attend  the  funeral  of  a  brother 
priest,  to  go  to  the  quarterly  conference,  to  take 
a  pleasure  trip,  to  assist  at  this  or  that  ecclesi- 
astical,   educational,    or    social    function?      Our 
monthly  retreat  does  not  necessitate  our  absenci 
from  our  parish  at  all,  nor,  for  that  matter,  does 


1?2 


CLERICAL  COLLOorrrga 


poses   ol    interior   recoll#»ptirt«     =^ir  .      *^ 

will  have  ample  itoeTrT;/        "•""'.'  """""e  "» 
fec^°e  ^ve"t', '"'  ^P""*"'-  of  interior,  ef- 

Many  go  o?ten   oThe  V  "'«'"  °'  P'^^tion 
love  of  vanitiM   f„ii  «f  •         f.       "^™'  earnest  in 

K^atlale'Sat  J^'*  V^«°- ■» 

press  purpose  of  -'eonsidering  in  2  htrP-  2' 
voting  several  hours  of  ,ha.  lay  ,o  a  .tCs  and" 


mm^i^^MMMM-. 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


173 


.ystematic  examination  of  our  interior  life  and 

lhe""^oT'orG';rd""^  ""''"r  "'  «-"'"eyea,T? 
nah,~?^  ,  "•  "'■  '™P'y  ""e  result  of  our 

lake,  tlie  retreat  will  abundantly  justify  itself     It 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of  by  the  cler„  ,h„ 
sacerdotal  work  done  from  purely  naurfl  m^ 
tives  looks  so  much  like  that  accomplished  ^,h 
supernatural  purity  of  intention  thaTSlr  t:t  ma* 
readily    be    confounded    even    by    the    natural 

Trt"  cSv=  r*- ^r "'  """'^ »''"" 

"„Z  ^    °  ""'"'•  no  matter  how  strenu- 

Tizj;"'  ''-•"'  '■™»^« '"  '"e  -'ivitferof 

Not  the  least  beneficial  of  the  exercisp,  ^«n 

dea  h  is^o'  nirh  '  °^  *»^^/verage  priest  towards 
nrHl„  ,  P^'^'^^Ps  very  dissimilar  to  that  of  the 
ordinary  layman,  different  as  their  poinis  of  view 
might  reasonably  be  expected  to  be  Nav  Z 
greater  familiarity  of  the  priest  w^^h   1^'kk^ 

solution  less  impressive  to  him  than  to  the  Der 
son  whose  actual  contact  with  death  is  an  even i 
ou    of    he  common,  a  relatively  rare  experience 
Both  pnest  and  layman  are  prone  to  think  of  fat.i 

matters'     V''  ^"'"'^^°«  °^  "^^'^  final  spa/k  a 
matters  qmte  impersonal,  of  speculative  and  pure! 


'jr.-'S 


174 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


f 


,ii"n 


4 


\ . 


ly  academic,  rather  than  practical,  interest  so  far 
as  they  are  individually  concerned.    Putting  one's 
self  in  another's  place  by  force  of  imagination, 
discernmg  insight,  or  sympathetic  interest  is  never 
an  easy  task;  putting  one's  self  in  a  dying  man's 
place  IS  a  peculiarly  difficult  one.      Any  one  can 
readily  enough  philosophize  on  the  Inevitability 
of  death,  the  certainty  of  its  coming  to  each  of  us 
some  time  and  the  possibility  of  its  coming  soon; 
the  preacher  can  moralize  by  tiie  hour  wisely  and 
eloquently  on  the  folly  of  living  even  for  a  day 
m  a  state  in  ,which  we  would  not  wish  to  die,  and 
on  tiie  consequent  wisdom  of  being  always  pre- 
pared to  leave  this  world  and  meet  one's  eternal 
Judge;  but  the  fact  remains  tiiat  both  philosopher 
and  morahst  sometimes,  if  not  habitually,  fail  to 
take  their  own  lessons  to  heart,  and  tfiat  mentally 
to  envisage  one's  self  on  the  bed  of  death,  antici- 
pating  by    the    power    of    the    imagination    the 
thoughts,  reflections,  regret?.  .;ad  fears  and  hopes 
of  life  s  last  supreme  hour,  is  a  process  as  difficult 
as  It  is  unquestionably  salutary.    Like  otiier  diffi- 
cult processes,  ho—ver,  it  becomes  easier  with 
repetition;  and  ti..     --^st  who  seriously  under- 
takes  it  once  a  month  will  probably  discover  that 
as  an  aid  to  spiritual  progress,  it  is  more  effective 
than  a  dozen  sick-calls  to  the  dying  or  a  dozen 
funerals  of  departed  brother  priests. 

The  spiritual  outings  thus  far  considered  arc 
purely  optional,  and  while  it  is  tolerably  safe  to 
say  that  they  form  regular  features  in  the  life  of 
the  thoroughly  exemplary  and  devout  cleric  it 
would  be  rash  to  characterize  the  neglect  of  any 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


175 


tenidTfv^^TK  *!'T  "'  **""  h^M-niark  of  sacerdotal 
lepidity.  That  they  are  commendable  exercises, 
however,  few  priests,  fervent  or  tepid,  will  be  in- 

in°nl  n  ?.?•  ^i  ^^  P"°*^*P^^  «Pi"*"«»  outing 
in  pnesUy  life,  and  the  one  that  is  not  optional- 

but  compulsory.-the  annual  or  biennial  diocesan 
retreat— it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  it  is 
quasi-essenUal  to  genuine  healthiness  of  soul  If 
a  vacation  of  a  few  weeks  or  months  is  often  help- 
ful and  someUmes  necessary  to  the  preservation 
of  mental  or  physical  well-being,  there  can  be  no 
possible  doubt  that  a  retreat  of  five  or  six  days, 
at  intervals  of  two  years  at  most,  cannot  well  be 
dispensed  with  by  men  entrusted  with  functions 
so  sublime  and  burdened  with  responsibilities  so 
great  as  are  priests  charged  with  the  care  of  souls 
It  IS  of  course  a  commonplace  of  ascetical  the- 

1°^  u^\u  ""^^^^^  '^  ^  "^«°^*  g^^^^'  «nd  it  is 
n«  J'^tK  .  i^  conviction  of  every  reader  of  this 
page  that  the  grace  not  only  may  be  in  theory, 
but  at  times  actually  is  in  practice,  abused.  Com- 
paratively few  of  us  indeed  are  likely  to  claim 
that  we  ourselves  have  profited  to  the  fullest  pos- 
sible  extent  by  all  or  most  of  the  retreats  which 
we  have  personally  attended,  and  both  the  utter- 
ances and  the  actions  of  some  of  our  clerical  con- 
freres have  indicated  that  our  lack  of  requisite 
fervor  has  not  been  unique.    It  is  entirely  possi- 

hL  ♦  ,  .  ^  '''*''^^*  ^"  *°«  "8*»tly,  possible  in- 
deed to  look  upon  it  as  though  it  were  in  realitv 
what  the  reporter  of  our  initial  paragraph  pro'- 

nfT'**  '*'/  '^'"*^^^"  «"""«  i°  the  literal  sense 
of  the  word,  and  to  go  through  its  various  exer- 


'H\ 


I 


1 


»•  ...1 


t- 


'1  -11 

If 
"1    ' ' 

'      ^  "-    1 

i  ,' 

176 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


cises  in  a  purely  perfunctory  fashion  with  no  more 
than  a  semi-occasional  moment  of  earnest  thought 
and  a  half-formed  evanescent  purpose  of  amend- 
nient  The  priest  who,  since  his  last  retreat  or 
since  his  ordination,  has  so  lowered  his  standards 
from  the  ideals  which  he  once  cherished  that  he 
is  not  only  imperfect  and  tepid  but  wholly  con- 
tent to  remain  so,  is  in  dire  neevi  of  an  immense 
initial  grace,— the  real  will  to  reform.  Wanting 
that  grace,  either  because  he  does  not  earnestly 
pray  for  it  or  because  he  rejects  it  when  gratui- 
tously proffered,  he  is  safe  to  go  through  the  re- 
treat not  only  with  absolutely  no  profit  to  him- 
self but  in  all  probability  with  considerable  detri- 
ment to  others. 

In  the  important  matter  of  observing  silence, 
for  instance,  such  a  cleric  will  assuredly  not  set 
an  example  worthy  of  imitation,  yet  his  example 
is  safe  to  be  followed  by  one  or  more  of  his 
friends  who  would  just  as  readily  imitate  his 
fervor,  had  he  the  grace  to  show  any.  Hypocrisy 
is  an  unlovely  policy  even  though  it  be  called 
"the  homage  which  vice  pays  to  virtue,"  but  one 
is  tempted  to  wish  that  such  priests  as  attend  re- 
treats without  any  well-defined  and  serious  pur- 
pose of  profiting  by  the  manifold  precious  graces 
placed  at  their  disposition,  would  act  the  hypo- 
crite to  the  extent  of  veiling  their  interior  dissipa- 
tion under  a  decorous  and  reverent  exterior. 
Such  action  would  at  least  lessen  the  danger  of 
their  becoming  veritable  stumbling-blocks  to  their 
brethren.  Given  the  periods  of  recreation  during 
whkh  talking  is  permitted  at  clerical  retreats  in 


'^SSSf 


'•-*■-■ 'SS*"'.*! 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


177 


this  country,  what  excuse  is  there,  in  downright 
sober  earnestness,  for  visiting  one  another's  rooms 
outside  such  periods,  and  violating  the  silence 
without  which  the  really  important  part  of  tiie 
work  of  the  retreat  is  impossible? 

Only  the  veriest  novice  in  spirituality  needs  to 
be  told  that  the  determinant  factor  in  the  suc- 
cess of  -x  priest's  retreat  is  tbe  priest  himself,— 
his    personal    activity    in    self-examination    and 
mental  prayer,  and  his  personal  passivity  as  well, 
in  that  quiet,  undistracted  recollectedness  which 
best  fits  Uie  soul  for  the  reception  of  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  Holy  Ghost.    Other  and  external  fac- 
tors,—tiie  exhortations  of  the  preacher,  the  con- 
ference of  the  bishop  or  archbishop,  listening  to 
Uie  reading  of  good  books,  devotional  exercises  in 
common,    tfie    example    of    thoroughly    devout 
broUier  priests— these   are  aids,  always  helpful 
and  sometimes  perhaps  necessary;  but,  if  I  am  to 
make  a  truly  profitable,  a  good  and  holy  retreat, 
I  must  act  on  tiie  principle  that  its  essential  work 
canuol  be  transferred  or  turned  over  to  any  one 
else,  but  must  of  necessity  be  done  by  myself.    The 
stage-settings  may  be  more  or  less  elaborate,  and 
other  figures  may  appear  in  the  different  scenes; 
but  the  dominant  characters  in   this  real  soul- 
drama    are   only    two:      God   and    myself.    The 
preacher  may  be  able,  persuasive,  brilliantly  elo- 
quent, full  of  force  and  fervor  and  unction,  yet 
at  best  he  is  merely  an  assistant-insti'uctor;  the 
real  retreat-master  is  none  other  than  the  Holy 
Spirit.    And  as  that  Spirit  communicates  His  les- 
sons in  their  fullness  to  those  only  whose  hearts 


'iSiMa 


IS 


178 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


■jiii 


•re  as  "enclosed  gardens,"  His  docile  pupils  must 
shun  levity  and  idle  talk  and  discursive  thought 
and  interior  dissipation  of  any  and  every  kind. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  a  priest 
who  habitually  enjoys  the  weekly  and  monthly 
outings  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  hour  of 
adoration  and  the  monthly  retreat  of  one  day,  will 
presumably  be  better  prepared  than  others  to 
avail  himself  of  all  the  multifarious  graces  which 
God  pours  out  so  lavishly  on  the  occasion  of  the 
annual  retreat  in  common.  Quite  naturally,  he 
wiU  have  l^ss  difficulty  in  ridding  his  mind  at  the 
outset  of  all  extraneous  considerations  and  enter- 
ing at  once  into  the  proper  spirit.  His  passably 
frequent  meditations  during  the  year  on  death 
and  the  eternal  truths  connected  therewith  have 
so  habituated  him  to  the  genuinely  supernatural 
atmosphere  of  the  interior  life  that  he  finds  him- 
self quite  at  home  and  at  his  ease  in  his  present 
environment,  thereby  presenting  a  marked  con- 
trast to  his  brother  cleric  (exceptional  perhaps, 
but  existent)  whose  quasi-habitual  neglect  of 
mental  prayer  and  whose  living  on  the  surface 
rather  than  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  have  so  de- 
spiritualized  his  views  that  the  atmosphere  of  the 
retreat  oppresses  him  as  the  natural  uir  oppresses 
a  fish  out  of  water. 

Lest  such  plain  speaking  as  the  foregoing  be 
set  down  as  gross  exaggeration,  let  there  be  quoted 
here  a  few  sentences  from  "The  Interior  Life," 
edited  by  Father  Tissot,  Superior  General  of  the 
Salesian  Missionaries.  From  chapter  viii.,  bearing 
the  title  "For  Priests,"  we  select  the  following: 


SPIRITUAL  OUTINGS 


179 


All  dav  the  priest,  devoted  to  his  ministrv  is 
given  up  to  the  service  of  God,  and  occuoied  wifh 
•upcrnatural  work.  The  normal  effecTofthis^m 
fite"*  '*^S"***  ^^  *°  "»i*«  the  pries  deeply.  S 
nappen  that  it  keeps  him  at  a  distance?  For  it 
8  impossible  to  disguise  the  fact  that  such  is  the 
too  common  result  of  his  work  to-day     Whence 

SrMn*.*!!'  r*?^"^'"'-^  ^"  «»>«"»    o  say  this 
fii  i?  *^?  deatfi-between  exercises  of  piety  and 
the  ministry,   the  one  killing  the   othc??   ^ 
wnat.  in  fact,  does  the  priest  whose  nietv  U  h*.  * 
coming  paralyzed  look  fo^r  in  hirmTnisS^*/  WhaJ 
The  fl«fY.T-    What  does  he  love?    Toothings 
hin^-oi^i  ".*»»mself      He  sees,  loves,  and  seels 
himself  far  too  much.    He  is  far  too  Aiuch  in  thi 
front  rank  in  many  of  his  intenUons.    How  many 
nf  M."  S^"°°"*  *^^H^"8«  «»<J  ^iews!    How  maSy 
Chu^h^^u  "^  ''^'**^^''  **^°»«  °f  God  nor  of  His 
Church     How  many  customs  and  practices  there 
are  which  are  not  exactly  in  the  spirit  of  the 
io^J^/"^  °^  discipline!    And  then.  tEere  are  thi 
ffiu°i   ^'H^^**'    *^   satisfactions    arising   from 
graUtude,  the  want  of  praise,  and  all  kfnds  S 

Now,  if  this  criticism  be  true  of  the  man  to 
whom  IS  applicable  the  first  sentence  of  the 
passage  just  quoted,  to  the  man  who  is  "all  day 

^uthfully  asserted  of  the  occasional  priest  whose 
day  IS  not  given  up  to  the  service  of  God  or  spent 
in  si^ernatural  work!  This  much  at  least  may 
i)e  affirmed  without  laying  one's  self  open  to  the 

'  The  interior  Life,  pp.  187-8.     (R  ft  t.  Waahbourne.  1918.) 


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180 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


charge  of  advocating  an  impracticably  high  stand- 
ard of  sacerdotal  piety:  even  strenuous  work  in 
tne  ministry  is  not  incompatible  with  too  little 
concern  for  one's  personal  relations  wiUi  God: 
and  there  are  few  if  any  priests  whose  interior  life 
would  not  be  notably  widened  and  deepened  by 
the  adoption  of  these  exercises  to  which  we  have 
given  the  name  of  spiritual  outings. 


XI 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  PRIESTS 

Br^Z7itt  ^  *°*"^^  *•»  ^  century.-5tr  James  Crichton- 
yea^tStS'^ii^,^  ^^^^^  ''  --  at  the  most  are  a  hundred 

»e„^"o^ne'^Sni^j;^tSt^i5;.t^^  -«  '^-  *^«  -- 
TTTITH  advancing  years  the  average  man  is  apt 

vIIk  r°l!^y  *"'"  opinions  considerably  on  a 
variety  of  subjects,  and  on  none  perhaps  is  the 
modification  more  continuous  and  more  radical 
tnan  on— the  advancing  years  themselves.  Old 
age.  Its  constituents,  its  desirableness,  its  compara- 

t7«  ^tTTV^  clrawbacks,-these  are  mat- 
ters  about  which  one's  point  of  view  and.  in  con- 
sequence, one's  convictions,  invariably  change 
from  decade  to  decade  until,  in  most  cases.  opiS! 
ions  once  stoutiy  maintained  are  eventuaUy  aban- 
doned as  untenable,  and  judgments  once  LZri- 
tatively  pronounced  are  entirely  reversed.    To  the 

IThLTt  ^^'^.^^^  ^«^^*^^  °^^  ««"  ™-«t  upon 

his  hands  the  cleric  who  is  celebrating  the  silver 

himself  attains  the  age  of  forty-nine  or  fifty,  he 
considers  himself  so  far  from  old  age  that  he 
boasts  of  being  yet  in  his  prime;  and  fven  when 
he  reaches  the  golden  goal  of  half  a  century  i" 

Xtefn^hT*'  <«IP«?«J^«  -e  in  a  thouTanS 
pnests  m  this  country  does),  he  still  flatters  him- 

131 


-41 


182 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


k'i 


1  I  i   : 


self  that  after  all  he  is  not  so  very  old,  and  that 
there  is  really  no  good  reason  why  he  should  not 
look  forward  to  the  rarely  scaled  mountain-peak 
of  the  diamond  jubilee. 

Different  as  may  be,  however,  the  opinions  of 
young,  middle-aged,  and  elderly  clerics  as  to  the 
precise  period  when  unmistakable  old  age  really 
arrives,  it  is  probable  that  all  three  classes  may 
find  something  of  interest,  if  not  of  instruction  and 
edification,  in  a  discussion  of  the  theme  which 
forms   the  title   of  this  essay,   the   longevity   of 
priests.    It  may  be  well  to  emphasize  at  the  out- 
set the  indubitable  fact  that  the  length  or  brief- 
ness of  one's  days,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  God's 
providence,  depends  very  largely  upon  one's  self. 
It  is  no  disparagement  of  some  excellent  persons, 
priests  as  well  as  laymen,  to  say  that  they  occa- 
sionally speak  of  death  in  a  strain  which  might 
suggest  their  belief  in  fatalism,  the  doctrine  that 
all  things  are  subject  to  fate,  or  come  and  go  by 
inevitable  predetermination.      We  have  of  course 
unimpeachable  authority  for  the  statement  that  it 
is  appointed  to  all  men  once  to  die,  and  it  is  the 
part  of  a  true  Christian,  and  more  especially  of  .. 
priest,  to  be  thoroughly  prepared  to  die  at  any 
moment;  but  there  i»  nothing  either  in  Holy  Writ, 
or  in  the  Church's  teachings  based  thereon,  to  war- 
rant the  belief  that  this  or  that  individual  man  is 
destined  to  die  before  he  has  rounded  out  the 
three  score  years  and  ten  mentioned  as  life's  term 
by  the  Royal  Psalmist,  or  even  the  full  century 
which  Ecclesiasticus  gives  as  life's  extreme  limit. 
Resignation  to  the  will  of  God  is  altogether 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  PRIESTS  183 


audable,  but  there  is  no  necessity  of  attributing 
to  His  positive  willing  one  or  another  occurrence 
which,  obviously,  He  only  permits.    The  free  will 
of  man  himself  not  infrequently  thwarts  the  de- 
signs of  our  Heavenly  -',ther,-every  sin  is  such 
a  thwarting;  and  it  m-,      well  be   that  many   a 
death  spoken   of  as   being  m   accordance   with 
Gods  holy  will"  is  in  reality  a  frustration  of 
Heaven  s  beneficent  designs,  a  frustration  effected 
by  the  departed  one  himself.    It  would  be  patent- 
y  incongruous   if  not  worse,  to  say  of  a  suicide 
that  he  died Jm  God's  own  good  time,"  or  that 
God    called  him,"  "took  him  home,"  or  the  like; 
and  It  is  worth  while  to  remember  that  self-de- 
struction may  be  brought  about  slowly  as  well  as 
swiftly     Habitual  violation  of  the  laws  of  health 
IS.  m  effect,  progressive  suicide,  a  truth  to  which 
we  all  bear  testimony  when  we  talk  about  such  a 
one  s  exposing  himself  "to  take  his  death  of  cold," 
or  his    burning  the  candle  at  both  ends,"  his  "kill- 
to^deato  "'^  ^'^^  ^''''^"  ''''  *"''  "worrying  himself 
The  fact  is  that,  in  tiie  case  of  priests  espe- 
cially we  are  too  fond  of  assuming  that  God's  ex- 
traordinary providence  intervenes  to  offset  or  re- 
verse the  natural  laws  which  control  and  deter- 
"i^^u    u    ?"'"^t^o°  a°d  the  termination  of  the  life 
of  the  body.    That  He  does  so  intervene  at  times 
s  doub  less  true.    We  find  proofs  of  the  facMn 
beLve'd    °^,^isdom:_"He  pleased  God  and  las 
hfij    «  ^'""'"^  ^"°"«  ^^""^'^  he  was  trans- 

it       u- ^  ^®!  ^^^^"^  ^^^y  ^^^*  wickedness  should 
alter   his    understanding,    or  deceit   beguile    his 


.  *  f  I!  1 

.1 


'v" 


*        -» 


184 


CLERICAL  COLJOQUIES 


I     :  ;«;,  •      "°*^  ™®*^^  perfect  in  a  short  space, 
he  fulfilled  a  long  time:    For  his  soul  pleased 
God:  therefore  He  hastened  to  bring  him  out  of 
the  midst  of  iniquiUes."    There  is  of  course  no 
reason  why  God's  action,  as  here  recorded,  should 
not  be  repeated  in  our  day;  but  the  fact  remains 
that  m  His  ordinary  dealings  with  men  He  al- 
lows natural  laws  to  produce  their  natural  effects- 
and  the  man  who  violates  these  laws  and  in  con- 
sequence dies  prematurely  is  more  likely  to  have 
been  the  victim  of  his  own  imprudence  than  the 
recipient  of  God's  miraculous  favor.    There  is  no 
intention  here  of  denying  that  health  may  be  law- 
fully and  meritoriously  disregarded  in  God's  serv- 
ice; life  itself  may  be  sacrificed  for  His  sake,  or 
for  that  of  His  servants,— "the  good   shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  his  sheep;"  but  this,  too,  is  out 
of  the  ordinary  course  of  events.    In  our  day  and 
country  the  better  the  health  of  the  pastor  of 
souls,  the  better  as  a  rule  the  service  he  renders 
his  flock,  and  the  longer  he  lives  the  more  efficient 
may  that  service  become. 

Apropos  01  efficiency,  there  is  in  Father  Lock- 
mgton  s  Bodily  Health  and  Spiritual  Vigor  a  para- 
graph which  is  worth  the  consideration  of  all 
clencs.  It  is  his  comment  on  this  passage  from 
Ecclesiasticus:  "Be  not  greedy  in  any  feastino. 
nor  pour  out  thyself  upon  any  meat,  for  in  many 
meats  there  will  be  sickness,  and  greediness  will 
turn  to  choler.  By  surfeiting  many  have  per- 
"Jif.  ,  ^?''  ^^  ^^^  '^  temperate  will  prolong  life." 
Ilunk,  says  the  author  mentioned,  "of  what  the 
prolongation  of  life  means  in  the  saving  of  souls 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  PRIESTS  186 


Every  added  year  means  an  increase  of  valuable 
experience  and  efficiency.  The  matured  man  who 
nas  at  his  command  the  garnered  forces  of  lone 
experience  is  a  mighty  force  whose  power  in- 

hoHv?  u    t^'^y^^"  P«««-    Such  a  one  who.  with 
body  full  of  physical  vigor  and  mind  steadied  by 
time  and  stored  with  knowledge,  is  young  at  fifty 
IS  a  tremendous  power  for  good  among  his  fel- 
low-men, and  one  that  will  draw  souls  to  Christ 
with  irresistible  force.    'By  surfeiting  many  have 
perished  ;    If   they   perish    and   go    Home,    even 
though  It  be  but  a  few  years  before  the  time  at 
which  God  intended  that  they  should  go,  such  de- 
fection from  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers  of  Christ 
means  loss  of  souls." 

There  is  nothing  reprehensible,  therefore,  in 
the  desire  very  generally  entertained  by  men  who 
have  reached  the  sixth  decade  of  their  years  to 
attain  the  blessing  promised  by  God  to  those  who 
honor  their  parents,  to  be  "long-lived  upon  earth," 
or  in  that  reasonable  care  of  the  health  (a  good 
deal  less  common   than   the   desire  mentioned) 
which  18  a  necessary  means  to  that  worthy  end. 
On  the  contrary,  such  desire  and  such  care  are 
m  all  probability  quite  in  accordance  with  God's 
inscrutable    designs,   just   as    a   manner   of   life 
which  brings  about  frequent  ailments  in  the  pres- 
ent and  logically  leads  to  a  truncated  future  can 
scarcely  be  other  than  displeasing  to  the  Father 
who  has  called  us  to  a  ministry  wherein,  excep- 
tional cases  apart,  the  best  work  is  accomplished 
Dy  sound  body  and  sound  mind  in  conjunction 
with  genuine  piety  and  enlightened  zeal.    That 


ij 


U. 


i;' 
-■i| 


M 

m 


186 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


wonderful  piece  of  mechanism  which  we  call  our 
body  is,  after  all,  the  work  of  God;  He  is  the 
author  of  all  the  laws  by  which  its  multifarious 
movements  are  regulated;  and  there  seems  to  be 
no  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  divine 
Mechanician  objects  to  our  keeping  the  compli- 
cated machine  in  good  concition  and  smooth  run- 
ning order.  He  Himself  indeed  tells  us :  "There 
is  no  riches  above  the  riches  of  the  health  of  the 
body;"  and  it  is  significant  that  the  record  of  the 
mortal  life  of  the  divine  Exemplar  and  Model  of 
all  priests  makes  ho  mention  of  His  having  ever 
been  sick. 

Given,  then,  that  long  life  is  a  blessing,  and 
that  such-health-giving  habits  as  are  apt  to  pro- 
long our  days  are  commendable,  let  us  consider 
in  the  light  of  historical  records  and  of  present- 
day  experience  the  probable  length  of  days  that 
may  be  reasonably  looked  forward  to  by  twen- 
tieth century  people  generally  and  by  priests  in 
particular.  To  begin  with,  centenarianism  or  the 
actual  living  of  a  hundred  years  is  neither  a  fan- 
tastic dream  nor  even  a  phenomenal  achieve- 
ment. The  statistics  of  the  British  Registrar- 
General's  office,  statistics  which  cover  a  onger 
period  than  do  those  of  the  United  States,  con- 
clusively show  that  one  person  in  every  127,000 
rounds  out  the  full  century.  In  most  Euro- 
pean countries  the  exact  registration  of  births, 
baptisms,  and  deaths  is  i  tended  to  by  Church  or 
State,  or  by  both,  and  accordingly  the  longevity 
records  of  such  countries  postulate  a  credence 
that  can  hardly  be  given  to  statistics  compiled  in 


THE  LONGEVITY  OP  PRIESTS 


187 


a    less    methodical    tashion    from    data    not    so 
authoritative.      A   few  years  ago,   in    1906,    the 
American  Medicine  magazine  published  some  in- 
teresting figures  on  this  subject,  the  result  of  in- 
vestigations by  German  statisticians.      The  inves- 
tigators found  that  the  German  Empire  with  a 
population  of  fifty-flve  millions  had  only  seventy- 
eight  centenarians.    France  with  fewer  than  forty 
millions  had  two  hundred  and  thirteen;  England 
had  one  hundred  and  forty-six;  Scotland,  forty- 
six;  Denmark,  two;  Belgium,  five;  Sweden,  ten; 
and  Norway,  with  two  and  a  third  million  in- 
habitants,   twenty-three.      In    Switzerland    there 
were  no  centenarians,  but  in  Spain  with  a  popula- 
tion of  about  eighteen  millions  there  were  four 
hundred  and  ten  persons  who  had  passed  their 
hundredth  birthday.      The  Balkan  peoples,  how- 
ever, were  shown  to  be  the  longest-lived.    The 
centenarians  in  Servia  numbered  five  hundred  and 
seventy-three;   in  Roumania,  one   thousand  and 
eighty-four;  and  in  Bulgaria,  three  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-three.    In  other  words,  Bul- 
garia had  a  cente»^arian  for  every  thousand  of  its 
inhabitants,  thus  holding  the  international  record 
for   old   people.      About    the   same   period,   the 
United  States  census  gave  the  number  of  people 
in  this  country  who  had  reached  the  age  of  one 
hundred  years  or  more  as  three  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  eighty-one. 

It  may  possibly  afford  some  consolatioT-  to  the 
would-be  centenarian  to  learn  that  his  chances  of 
attaining  the  goal  of  his  ambition  are  consider- 
ably better  in  this  twentieth  ccnturj'  than  they 


Mf|l 


■■r 


188 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIi 


i  s: 


■j  i 

BL 

would  have  been  in  the  sixteenth  or  seventeenth. 
The  foremost  medical  authority  of  England  as- 
sures us  that  within  the  past  three  centuries  the 
average  working  life  of  English-speaking  men  has 
been  doubled.  While  a  few  persons  lived,  three 
hundred  years  ago,  as  long  as  do  people  now,  and 
some  ang  or  favored  ones  showed  efUcieut 
working  powers  as  lonp-  the  ordinary,  common 
life  was  worD  out  in  what  is  nov  deemed  middle 
age.  In  Shakespeare's  time,  as  is  evident  from 
ihe  text  of  his  dramas,  persons  who  had  reached 
the  half-century  mark  were  accounted  venerable, 
in  Richard  II.,  for  instance,  wc  find  a  man  of  only 
fifty-eight  addressed  as  "Old  John  of  Gaunt,  time- 
honored  Lancaster."  So,  loo,  the  contemporaries 
of  Admiral  Goligny,  who  was  murdered  in  1572, 
write  of  him  as  a  very  old  man,  although  he  was 
but  fifty-three.  That  the  average  ler'»th  of  life 
has  been  almost  doubled  within  a  few  centuries 
is  of  course  due  to  the  progress  of  civilization,  the 
amelioration  of  the  workers*  lot,  and  especially 
the  improved  sanitary  conditions,  and  this,  not- 
withs't  nding  the  increased  strenuousness  and 
nervous  excitement  and  restlessness  of  existence 
at  the  present  day.  The  mean  duration  of  MU*. 
in  France  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
wan  twenty -nine  years;  in  1859  the  average  had 
risan  to  forty  years.  Among  "facts  about  the 
earth"  to  be  found  in  that  statistics-crammed  vol- 
ume, the  World  Almanac,  the  general  (and  prob- 
ably not  scientifically  accurate)  statement  is  made 
that:  "The  average  duration  of  human  life  is 
about  thirty-three  years.    One-quarter  of  the  peo- 


THE  LONQ]i!VITY  OF  PRIESTS  189 

pie  on  the  earth  die  before  the  age  of  six  y-rs, 
on.  hplf  before  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  only  about 
one  person  of  each  one  hundred  lives  to  be  sixtv- 
iive."  ^ 

How  do  priests  compare  ^ith  other  mortals  in 
this  matter  of  longevity?    From  such  data  as  the 
present  writer  has  found  available  it  seems  evi- 
dent that  they  are  longer-lived  than  their  lay 
brethren.      A  good  many  priests  will  in  all  likeli- 
hood be  as  much  surprised  to  read  this  statement 
as  was  the  writer  in  discovering  its  truth.    For 
years  I  had  been  entertaining  the  opinion,  not  to 
say  the  conviction,  that  the  span  of  life  in  the 
priesthood  is  notably  shorter  than  in  most  other 
professions  or  callings,  that  genuinely  old   ^riests 
are  rare,  and  that  the  vast  majority  of  clerics- 
Catholic  clerics  at  any  rate — pass  away  in  early 
middle  age.    A  cursory  examination  of  the  fact;  in 
the  case  has  led  to  a  revision  of  that  opinion.      In 
the  first  place,  consulting  the  leading  source  ox 
information  regarding  the  mortality  in  various 
occupations,  which  source  is  admittedly  the  Eng- 
lish statistics,  we  find  that  the  healthiest  of  all 
occupations,  not  even  excepting  the  farmer's,  is 
that  of  the  clergyman:  the  death-rate  of  clerics 
is  less  than  that  of  any  other  class  of  men.      An 
obvious  comment  on  this  fact  is  perhaps:    "Yes, 
^  ut  the  life  of  a  parson  in  England  is  so  diflferent 
from  that  of  a  priest  in  the  United  States  that 
your    adduced    fact    has    very    little    evidential 
value."    Well,  to  confine  our  inquiry  to  this  coun- 
try:    according  to  the  U.  S.  Census  reports,  the 
death  rate  for  all  males  in  the  republic  is  18.91; 


■  ■  ■(- 


190 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


and  the  death  rate  of  priests,  as  compiled  from 
the  oflicial  Catholic  Ulri-ctory  (for  the  years 
1912-3-4-5),  is  only  15.3.  To  be  quite  fair,  the 
comparison  should  be  between  males  over  twen- 
ty-four and  priests;  and  as  between  these  two 
classes  the  advantage  in  favor  of  the  clerics  is  still 
greater. 

As  the  reader  is  no  doubt  aware,  the  death  rate 
means  the  average  number  of  persons  dying  in 
a  year  for  each  1,000  of  the  population.  Now,  the 
Catholic  Directory  for  1912  gives  the  number  of 
priests  in  this  counUT  as  17,491.  During  that  year, 
as  we  learn  from  the  Necrology  list  of  the  Direc- 
tory for  1913,  257  of  these  priests  died.  The  pro- 
portion was  therefore  14.6  to  the  thousand.  The 
rate  was  a  little  higher  in  1913, 318  of  17,945  priests 
having  passed  away  in  that  year,  making  the  pro- 
portion 17.2  per  thousand.  In  1914,  of  18,568 
priests  only  266  died,  the  rate  being  14.3,  leaving 
the  average  rate  for  thr  airee  years  15.3,  as  stated 
above.  In  the  registration  area  of  the  United 
States  for  the  y?ar  1900  the  death  rate  of  males 
between  the  ages  of  25  and  34  was  9.5;  of  those 
between  35  and  44,  12.4;  of  those  between  45  and 
64,  24.1;  and  of  those  aged  65  and  upward,  91.1. 
The  average  rate  for  all  males  above  twenty-five 
is  accordingly  not  a  little  in  excess  of  that  for  our 
priests. 

Abstract  statistics,  however,  are  proverbially 
dry;  let  us  consider  a  few  concrete  facts  that  have 
to  do  with  our  subject.  In  a  Community  Ceme- 
tery a  few  rods  distant  from  the  writer's  resi- 
dence   there    are    buried    twenty-five    religious 


TllW  LONOKVITY  OF  PRIESTS  191 


priests,— teachers,  missionaries,  and  pastors.     The 
average  n«o  of  th^  band  is  a  little  more  than  Hfty 
years     A  few  months  before  his  death  in  1913.  the 
late  Bishop  Hogan  of  Kansas  City  gave  his  chan- 
cellor, the  n.  V.  W.  Keuenhof.  a  collectior     r  "ne 
hundred  an.i  thirty-five  obituary  cards  .  .   ,.  iests 
deceased  in  the  archdiocese  of  St.  Louis  ...d  the 
dioceses  of  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph.  request- 
In/     he  chancellor  to  calculate  the  average  life- 
time and  the  average  period  spent  in  the  priest- 
hood    The  lifetime  was  found  to  be  56.9  years, 
and  the  priestly  period,  30.25  years.    In  all  proba- 
bility one  factor  that  made  for  longevity  in  the 
case  of  a  majority  of  these  Missouri  priests  was 
their  hving  m  a  sparsely  rather  than  a  densely 
settled  country,  with  outlying  missions  as  well  as 
a  home  parish  to  be  attendrd  to.  and  consequently 
with  a  certain  amount  of       forced  outdoor  exer- 
cise.      Our  third  concrete  i  stance  has  to  do  with 
a  group  of  priests  who  lived  and  died,  not  in  this 
country,  but  on  the  Foreign  Missions.    The  Mis- 
sions  Cathotiques,   published   in   Lyons.   France 
gives  each  year  the  necrology  list  for  all  the  mis' 
sions  subject  to  the  Propaganda.      Several  years 
ago  the  present  writer,  computing  from  such  a 
1st  the  average  lifetime  of  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen     priests    deceased     during     the     preceding 
twelvemonth,  found  it  to  be  something  more  than 

S!l'f°"r/^^"j~u^"'*  ^^  ^'"^  ^^^  "^o'-^J  that  the 

mimical  to  longevity  as  they  are  ofttimes  thought 

Whether  or  not  the  average  lifetime  of  the  pas- 


1  iVfi 


•w 


lifiii 


! 

!  ? 

' 

( 

!    ' 

V 

!    » 

III 

IC 

*      « 

►;3i! 

1- 

1 

"• 

<*,!  1 

1 

1 

i 

192 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


tors  and  curates  in  our  Eastern  States,  where 
parishes  have  been  longer  established  and  large 
towns  and  cities  are  more  numerous  than  in 
Missouri,  measures  up  to  the  figures  given  in  the 
preceding  paragraph  we  cannot  say;  but  we  are 
inclined  to  think  that  it  does  not.  Sometime  in 
the  future,  perhaps,  the  reverend  chancellors  of 
the  country  will  furnish  the  publishers  of  the  Di- 
rectory with  not  only  the  names  but  the  ages  of 
priests  on  the  yearly  death-roll;  and  when  that  is 
done,  it  will  probably  appear  that  the  average 
lifetime  of  the  American  cleric  is  nearer  to  fifty 
than  to  sixty.  Even  at  sixty,  however,  a  man  now- 
adays is  not  considered  old.  An  optimistic  Amer- 
ican philosopher,  or  philosophical  American,  who 
at  fourscore  and  five  is  still  mentally  and  physic- 
ally active  remarked  only  the  other  day  that  "if 
fifty  be  the  old  age  of  youth,  then  sixty  must  be 
the  youth  of  old  age;"  and  a  goodly  number  of 
sexagenarians,  both  clerical  and  lay,  will  applaud 
his  epigram.  Another  genial  American  who  lived 
eight  decades  and  a  half — from  1809  to  1894 — 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  expressed  much  the  same 
idea  in  a  volume,  Over  the  Teacups,  written  when 
he  was  eighty-two.  "When  fifty  is  reached,  some- 
how sixty  does  not  look  so  old  as  it  once  used  to, 
and  seventy  is  still  far  off.  After  sixty  the  stern 
sentence  of  the  burial  service  seems  to  have  a 
meaning  that  one  did  not  notice  in  former  years. 
There  begins  to  be  something  personal  about  it. 
But  if  one  lives  to  be  seventy  he  soon  gets  used 
to  the  text  with  the  three  score  years  and  ten  in 
it,  and  begins  to  count  himself  among  those  who 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  PRIESTS 


193 


by  reason  of  strength  are  destined  to  reach  four- 
score,  of  whom  he  can  see  a  number  still  in  rea- 
sonably good  condition." 

It  is  tolerably  safe  to  affirm  that  the  world  of 
to-day  looks  upon  a  death  that  occurs  before  one 
has  reached  what  has  been  styled  "the  grand 
dimactenc,"  one's  sixty-«,ird  year,  as  more^;"' 
mature  than  timely;  and,  given  one's  perfect  sub- 
mission  to  God's  will  in  the  matter,  the  pries  who 
akes  prudential  measures  to  prolong  his  life  up 
to   and    even    considerably   beyond    that   period 
merits  commendation  instead  of  censure,  the  more 
^e«tr^ffl"?'^'"''%'  coincidently  conti-ibute  to  the 

rtur/nf 'v!'°'^  **^  ^"  P""'"y  '^^''^'  Of  the 
Tn  orH  .^^^^  measures,  tiie  means  to  be  taken 
m  order  tiian  one  may  live  out  his  full  span  of 

fhT'  ^^"*J'*"!."^°  ^"  '^'^  i°  «"<^h  an  essay  a 
this  and  that  litUe  must  necessarily  be  general 
rather  than  specific.  In  general  ter4s,  then?  the 
surest  way  of  prolonging  life  is  to  keep  oS  sel? 
n  perfect  healtii.  The  fewer  the  cloggings  and 
stoppages    and    partial    breakdowns    and    ove-- 

to  ^H^^'  !5'V^"  ^""^^y  '"^^h^"^  i«  caWed  upon 
to  endure,  the  longer  will  it  be  able  to  do  effective 
service.  Perfect  health,  it  may  be  well  to  remL 
the  reader,  is  something  different  from  what"s 
usually  termed  "good  health."  The  latter  phrlse 
frequently  means  nothing  more  than  freedom 
from  chronic  or  intermittent  maladies.    Manv  a 

onio  •     ~  ^m"^,  «°°^'  ***«°*^  G°^'"  even  though 

tnZ^iL'wv  '''  '""^^'^  '"^  ^  ^^y  «^  two  from 
mdigestion,  bihousness,  nervous  headache,  rheu- 

i« 


Hj 


1 


194 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


■      M 
<i  ■  • 


i.' 


\m 


matism,  coughs,  and  colds;  while  his  brother 
cleric  in  perfect  health  is  not  only  free  from  all 
such  occasional  ailments  and  indispositions,  but 
is  full  of  the  joy  of  life,  does  his  work  with  pleas- 
ure, and  takes  his  recreation  with  much  of  the 
zest  of  a  school-boy.  A  succinct  rule  for  the  at- 
tainment or  the  preservation  of  this  perfection  of 
health  is  formulated  by  Dr.  W.  Hall:  "Let  your 
food  be  simple:  never  eat  too  much;  take  exer- 
cise enough;  be  systematic  in  all  things;  if  un- 
well, starve  yourself  till  you  are  well  again,— and 
you  may  throw  care  to  the  winds  and  physic  to 

the  dogs."  ' 

One    truth    that    priests    and    other    persons 
should  bear  in  mind  and  profit  by  is  that  the  most 
eminent  physicians  of  our  time  discourage  the  use 
of  medicines,  drugs,  pills,  powders,  tablets,  purga- 
tives, stimulants,  tonics,  etc.,  etc.    The  true  secret, 
they  tell  us,  of  preserving  health  and  prolonging 
life  is  to  build  up  the  bodily  resistance,  to  put 
and  keep  our  various  organs  in  such  a  state  of 
preparedness  (to  use  the  word  of  the  hour)  that 
these  organs  will  be  able  successfully  to  ward  off 
the  attacks  of  all  germs,  bacteria,  bacilli,  and  the 
like  assailants  of  our  physical  well-being.    Such 
bodily  resistance  is  developed  by  a  methodical 
plan  of  living,  by  regularity  in  all  good  habits,  by 
temperance  in  the  use  of  food  and  drink,  by  tak- 
ing from  six  to  eight  hours  of  sleep  every  night, 
by  judiciously  mixing  recreation  with  work,  and 
by  devoting  several  hours  a  day  to  exercise  in 
the  open  air.      This  last  item  merits  emphasizing 
as  it  is  the  point  about  which  very  many  middle- 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  PRIESTS  195 


aged  priests  are  altogether  too  remiss.  For  the 
past  decade  the  present  writer  has  been  preach- 
ing by  word  and  example  the  benefits  of  walking 
as  a  clerical  exercise,  and  he  was  accordingly 
rather  gratified  in  May,  1915,  to  read  a  warning 
issued  to  the  people  of  this  country  by  the  United 
States  Public  Health  Service.  As  the  warning  is 
entirely  pertinent  to  the  theme  of  this  essay,  it 
will  be  permissible  to  quote  it  in  its  entirety.  Here 
it  is: — 


The  death  rate  after  the  age  of  forty  is  increas- 
mg  m  spite  of  more  sanitary  modes  of  living  and 

freater  protection  acainst  communicable  diseases, 
he  expectation  of  life  after  forty  is  less  than  it 
was  thirty  years  ago.  This  is  due  largely  to  in- 
creased prevalence  of  the  diseases  of  degenera- 
tion. ** 

The  muscles,  arteries,  and  other  organs  of 
those  who,  as  a  result  of  sedentary  occupation  or 
indulgence,  take  too  little  exercase,  degenerate. 
Heart  disease,  kidney  disease  and  oUier  ills 
follow. 

u  vT®*^®  exercise.  Take  daily  exercise.  Have  a 
hobby  that  gets  you  out  of  doors.  Walk  to  your 
business,  to  your  dressmaker's,  walk  for  the  sake 
of  walking.  Join  a  walking  club  and  keep  your 
weekly  score  of  miles.  Keep  chickens,  make  a 
garden,  wheel  the  baby,  or  play  golf  or  any  other 
game,  but  take  two  hours'  outdoor  exercise  every 

Gymnasium  work  is  good  for  those  who  like  it 
and  can  afford  it,  but  avoid  heavy  athletics.  Don't 
tiy  to  be  a  "strong  man."  The  champion  athletes 
die  young.  Be  a  moderate,  persistent,  daily  ex- 
ponent of  exercise. 

You  may  not  bum  the  family  carriage,  as  Ben- 


ii. 

■r 


m 


hMi 


Ml 

11! 


1 


IRI 


196 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


pi  .  i 


jamin  Franklin  suggested,  but  at  least,  as  he  ad- 
vised, walk,  walk,  walk. 

Several  months  after  the  appearance  of  the 
foregoing  advice  in  the  public  press,  I  contributed 
to  the  New  York  Sun  the  following  verses  which 
contain  both  a  bit  of  personal  experience  and 
something  of  the  philosophy  of  walking  for 
health  purposes : 

A  RHYME  OF  THE  ROAD 

Some  years  ago,  in  1906,  in  search  of  perfect  health— 
A  boon  of  greater  worth  by  far  than  Rockefeller's  wealth— 
I  took  to  heart  a  hobby,  or  a  fad,  as  some  might  say. 
And  vowed  to  walk  in  rain  or  shine  a  dozen  miles  a  day. 
The  perfect  health  came  speedily ;  'tis  staying  with  me  yet, 
And  daily  still  my  vow  I  keep  without  the  least  regret: 
The  out-of-doors  has  captured  me,  I've  yielded  to  its  wiles, 
And  incidentally  have  walked  just 

Forty 

Thousand 

Miles. 

The  time  for  all  this  walkingf    Well,  it  takes  three  hours  a 

day, 
One-third  the  time  I  give  to  work,  and,  doubt  it  as  you  may. 
That  work  is  more  in  quantity  and  better,  too,  in  kind 
Than   marked   the   listless,   walkless  years   I've  left  so   far 

behind,— 
For  perfect  health  means  energy  and  will  and  active  brain ; 
It  makes  of  work  a  pleasure  and  it  keeps  the  judgment  sane. 
Some  hours  of  precious  time,  mayhap,   I've  wasted   other- 
whiles, 
But  not  the  hours  I've  spent  in  walking 

Forty 

Thousand 

Miles. 


.'!lil!i!t( 


ih 


THE  LONGEVITY  OP  PRIESTS  197 


The  moral  of  this  story  t    Why,  there  isn't  any,  son, 
Unless  It  be  the  warning  lately  sent  from  Washington. 
The  U.  S.  Board  of  Public  Health,  disease's  game  to  balk, 
Advises  men  and  women  just  to  "walk,  walk,  walk" 
Of  course  you  know  your  own  needs  best:    I  don't  presume 

to  say 
You  ought  to  do  as  I  do-walk  a  dozen  miles  a  day; 
But  if  you'd  like,  ten  years  from  now,  to  find  your  life  all 

smiles, 
Get  busy,  and  from  now  till  then  walk 

Forty 

Thousand 

Miles. 
To  sum  up:    length  of  days  is  an  undoubted 
blessing  to  priests  as  to  other  people,  and  is  con- 
sequently a  boon  to  be  desired  and  (always    of 
course  in  conformity  to  God's  holy  will)   to  be 
striven  for.    Perfect  health  as  the  surest,  and  only 
available,  guarantee  of  a  long  life,  may  accord- 
ingly be  sought  after  and  developed  assiduously 
without   fear  of  contravening   the   divine   plan. 
Such  health  is  of  inestimable  worth  to  the  pastor 
of  souls  as  it  obviously  increases  his  efficiency 
and  his  working  power.    Neglect  of  one's  health 
and  violation  of  the  natural  laws  by  which  it  is 
preserved  are,  apart  from  cases  in  which  higher 
duties  autiiorize  such  violation,  merely  stc       of 
varying  lengtii  on   the  road  to  self-destri       ;n. 
We  must  all  die,  but  to  none  of  us  is  it  permitted 
to  advance,  direcUy  or  indirecUy,  the  date  which 
m  God's  designs  is  set  for  the  last  scene  in  the 
drama  of  our  life,  our  passage  from   time   to 
eternity. 


■41 


-*  1 


'n  i 


1- 


I   1 


XII 
PRIESTLY  LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH 

We  should  love  Ood  as  Our  Father,  and  the  Church  a«  our 
Motiher. — St.  Augustine. 

If  we  love  our  native  land  so  dearly  because  we  were  bom 
and  brfld  there,  and  are  ready  even  to  die  for  it,  how  much 
deeper  should  be  our  love  for  the  Church,  which  has  given  us 
the  life  that  has  no  end. — Leo  XIII. 

The  conformity  of  our  actions  to  our  engagements,  whether 
express  or  implied,  is  fidelity.  .  .  .  Thus  a  subject  is  faith- 
ful to  the  engagement  which  binds  him  to  the  sovereign  of  the 
state.  If,  in  such  a  case,  love  is  added  to  fidelity,  it  becomes 
loyalty. — Whewell.  < 

IT  is  probably  not  an  unwarrantable  assumption 
to  suppose  that  among  the  various  subjects  dis- 
cussed, Sunday  after  Sunday  from  January  to  De- 
cember, by  the  average  priest  in  this  country,  one 
which  recurs  occasionally,  if  not  frequently,  is 
the  Church.  That  sermons  or  instructions  on  this 
particular  subject  may  well  be  frequent  rather 
than  occasional  is  intelligible  enough  because 
of  the  many-sidedness  of  the  idea  of  which  "the 
Church"  is  the  verbal  sign,  and  the  multiple  as- 
pect:} under  which,  accorciingly,  the  subject  may 
be  congruously  and  profitably  considered.  So 
large  and  comprehensive  indeed  is  the  general 
theme  that  a  pastor  who  desires  to  give  his  peo- 
ple anything  approaching  adequate  instruction  on 
the  matter  will  probably  find  that  he  must  pre- 
pare, not  one  sermon  or  instruction,  but  a  series 
of  discourses  dealing  in  orderly  fashion  with  the 
numerous  topics  branching  out  naturally  from 

l»8 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    199 


'1 


the  theme's  main  stem  or  trunk.  The  meaning  of 
"the  Church";  its  names  and  symbols;  its  insti- 
tution and  o^gan:^ation;  its  end  or  purpose;  its 
social  constitution,  its  head  and  members;  its 
power  and  prerogatives;  its  marks,  or  the  signs 
by  which  it  is  known,— all  these  subordinate  ideas 
evidently  proffer  material  for  more  than  one  or 
two  effective  and  not  unnecessary  instructions. 

To  the  question,  for  instance.  What  is  meant 
by  the  Church?  one  of  the  recently  published  aids 
to  preachers  gives  no  fewer  than  fifteen  or  sixteen 
separate  answers,  and  that,  too,  without  exhaust- 
ing  the   possibilities.      For   the   benefit   of   such 
readers  as  have  not  access  to  the  volume  referred 
to,  it  may  be  permissible  to  quote  brief  summaries 
of  these  answers  without  at  all  developing  the 
main  idea  therein  contained.    The  Church,  then, 
is  the  society  of  the  faithful  of  Christ.    More  re- 
strictively,  it  is  the  society  of  the  baptized  faith- 
ful, who  profess  the  same  faith,  are  bound  by  the 
same  sacraments    and    sacrifice,  and  are  united 
under  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  the  supreme  Pontiff 
and  Bishop  of  Rome.   Viewed  universally  r    d  con- 
sidered as  embracing  the  mystic  body  o.  \.hich 
Christ  is   the  head,  it  may  be   defined  as   "the 
human  race  as  united  to  Christ  as  head,  and  con- 
stituting with  Him  a  mystic  body  or  mystic  fam- 
ily."   The  Church  is  Christ's  spiritual  kingdom, 
analogous   to   a    temporal   kingdom.    Again,  the 
Church  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  analogous  to 
civil  kingdoms,  but  at  the  same  time  different  lu 
many  respects.    It  has  its  king,  Christ;  its  viceroy, 
the  Roman  Pontiff;  the  governors  of  its  provinces. 


I 


W  It. 

i  ti.t.«r 


200 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


1 


I 


the  bishops;  ministers  of  lesser  rank,  the  priests; 
and  its  citizens,  the  faithful  throughout  the  world. 
The  Church  is  the  army  of  the  Lord  with  Christ 
as  the  supreme  ruler,  the  Pope  as  its  earthly  com- 
mander, the  bishops  as  generals,  the  priests  as 
subordinate  offlcens  and  the  faithful  as  rank  and 
file.  From  another  viewpoint,  the  Church  is  the 
family  of  the  Lord,  with  Christ  as  father  and  all 
the  faithful  as  brothers. 

In  a  more  figurative  sense,  the  Church  is  a 
sheep-fold,  under  one  shepherd  who  1  ads  his 
flock  to  the  pastures  of  doctrine  and  the  sacra- 
ments, whilst  at  the  same  time  He  protects  them 
from  wolves.  Similarly,  the  Church  is  the  garden 
of  the  Lord  wherein  fruit-bearing  trees  (the  faith- 
ful) are  planted.  So,  too,  the  Church  is  the  housi 
or  the  temple  of  the  Lord,— its  walls  (of  living 
stones),  the  faithful;  its  perpetual  foundation, 
Peter  and  his  successors;  its  columns,  the  bishops 
and  the  other  orders  of  the  hierarchy;  and  its 
altar,  Christ  Himself.  The  Church  is  moreover 
the  mystic  body  of  the  Lord,  animated  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  with  Christ  as  the  invisible,  and  the  Pope 
as  the  visible,  head;  and  the  faithful  united  to 
their  priests  as  the  members.  The  Church  is  the 
spouse  of  Christ,  and  our  mother:  she  has  be- 
gotten each  one  of  us,  she  nourishes  and  loves  us. 
And  she  is  a  queen,  who  walks  through  the  earth 
"doing  good  and  healing  all  who  are  oppressed." 
The  Church  is  the  boat  of  Peter,  bearing  Christ. 
She  is  called  also  by  many  other  nar.ies  and  sym- 
bols such  as  the  image  of  heaven,  heaven's  gate, 
and  heaven's  beginning.      Finally,  the  Church  is 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    201 


the  wheel  of  the  glory  of  God  that  was  shown  to 
Ezechiel,  representing  the  different  nations  sub- 
dued by  'he  Gospel,  and  bound  to  the  yoke  of 
Christ.    ("Pulpit  Themes,"  pp.  306-11.) 

Now,  the  preacher  who  amplifies   and  elab- 
orates any  of  the  foregoing  definitions  or  simili- 
tudes, or  who  expounds  to  his  hearers  such  other 
topics  as  are  mentioned  in  our  initial  paragraph, 
is  safe  to  insist  on  the  reverence  and  obedience 
which  the  faithful  owe  to  the  Church  and  her 
head,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.    Adopting  St.  Augu^ 
tine's  dictum,  "We  should  love  God  as  Our  Father, 
and  the  Church  as  our  Mother,"  he  may  aptly 
quote  the  scriptural  injunction,  "Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother,  that  thou  mayest  be  long-lived 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  will  give 
thee."     (Exod.  xx,  12.)     In  expatiating  upon  the 
truth    that    the    Church    is    truly    our    spiritual 
mother   the  mother  of  our  souls,— showing  how 
she  watches  over  us  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave, 
how  she  regenerates  us  in  the  waters  of  baptism, 
holds  out  to  us  the  plank  of  penance  when  our 
innocence  is  shipwrecked,  nourishes  us  for  eternal 
life  with  the  Holy  Eucharist,  blesses  our  joys,  con- 
doles with  our  sorrows,  comforts  us  on  our  death- 
bed, accompanies  us  to  our  grave,  and  prays  for 
us  long  after  that  grave  is  forgotten  by  all  human 
memories,— in  emphasizing  such  points  as  these, 
the  pastor  naturally  points  out  that  the  Church 
is  consequently  eminently  worthy  of  honor,  and 
that  the  most  effective  way  by  which  to  honor 
Mother  Church  is  to  give  her  full  and  unquestion- 
ing obedience. 


202 


CLERICAL  C0LT0QUIB8 


t    •  7 

1-,  :r 


The  pastor  is  all  the  more  likely  to  insist  on 
this  duty  of  obedience  because  of  the  fact  that  to 
himself,  as  a  member  of  the  Church's  teaching 
body,  some  measure  of  that  obedience  is  due  from 
his  heart^rs.    It  is  not  improbable  indeed  that  he 
lays  considerably  more  stress,  both  in  his  public 
utterances  and  in  his  private  reflections,  upon  the 
obedience  which  his  parishioners  owe  him  than 
on  that  which  he  himself  owes  the  Church  in  gen- 
eral and  his  immediate  ecclesiastic  superiors  in 
particular.    Concerning  this  latter  obligation  St. 
Paul  is  quite  explicit:    "Obey  your  prelates  and 
be  subject  to  them;  for  they  watch  as  being  to 
render  an  account  of  your  souls,  that  they  may 
do  this  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief;  for  this  is 
not  expedient  for  you.**    (Heb.  xiii,  17.)    In  con- 
sequence of  this  command  which  the  apostle  lays 
upon  all,  says  Bis^hop  Hay,  "the  Church  from  the 
very  earliest  ages  has  required  a  very  great  obe- 
dience from  her  clergy  to  their  superiors,  so  as 
even  to  demand  a  solemn  promise  from  them  at 
their  admission  to  the  priesthood  to  obey  their 
bishops.      Hence  in  the  third  epistle  attributed  to 
Pope  Clement  I.,  it  is  thus  decreed,  'Qui  suis  epis- 
copis  non  obediunt  indubitanter  rei  et  reprobi 
existunt,'  and  a  little  after,  '«i  autem  vobis  Epis- 
copis  non  obedierint  omnes  Presbyteri,  Diaconi  ac 
Subdiaconi,  et  reliqui  Clerici,  non  solum  infames, 
ted  et  extorres  a  regno  Dei  et  consortio  fidelium, 
ac  a  limitibus  sanctae  Dei  ecclesiae  alieni  erunt* " 
Given  that  the  ordinary  priest  has  not  entirely 
divested  himself  of  what  Scripture  calls  the  "old 
man,"  but  is  still  prone  to  show  that  even  ordina- 


in  I 

i 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    208 


tion  has  not  thoroughly  transformed  his  human 
nature,  it  is  not  improbable  that  his  obedience  will 
be  rendered  more  promptly  and  fully  to  orders 
addressed  i^  nim  personally  by  his  bishop,  either 
viva  vtce  or  by  letter,  than  to  the  statutes  of  the 
diocese,  the  rulings  of  diocesan  synods,  or  the 
decrees  of  provincial  or  national  councils.  Yet 
there  can  be  no  question  that  these  statutes,  rul- 
ings, and  decrees  have  binding  power,  even 
though  they  do  not  enjoy  the  prerogative  of  in- 
fallibility, as  do  the  decrees  of  a  general  or 
ecumenical  council  of  the  Church.  And  it  ought 
to  be  superabundantly  clear  t'>  any  cleric  that  in 
his  character  of  an  officer  in  the  Church's  army, 
he  should  set  the  rank  and  flic  a  splendid  ex- 
ample of  ready  obedience  to  his  superior  officers, 
whether  their  commands  be  issued  verbally,  are 
included  in  the  orders  of  the  day,  or  are  a  con- 
stituent part  of  the  army  code.  Nay,  more,  it 
should  be  patent  to  him  that  his  obedience  should 
not  only  be  such  as  to  show  forth  his  fidelity  to 
his  obligations,  but  should  possess  that  additional 
ingredient  of  loving  service  which  raises  fidelity 
to  the  higher  plane  of  loyalty. 

In  the  world  of  politics  or  that  of  commerce, 
as  in  the  army  or  the  navy,  one  of  the  highest 
compliments  that  can  be  paid  to  a  suborainate  or 
adjutant  or  lieutenant  is  to  say  of  him  that  he  is 
distinguished  by  "a  fine  sense  of  loyalty"  to  his 
cliief  or  chiefs.  What  then  should  not  be  the 
habitual  attitude  of  a  priest  of  God  towards  the 
Church  which  has  dowered  him  with  such  power 
and   dignity,    to   f^-    spiritual   Mother   who   has 


J 


204 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


J,; 


•■ll 


treated  him  ai  her  child  of  special  predilection  I 
Surely  nothing  less  than  the  most  grateful  devo- 
tion, the  readiest  acquiescence  in  her  decisions, 
the  promptest  submission  to  her  demands,  and 
the  keenest  se.  !ivcncss  to  anything  reflecting  on 
her  honor  and  repute.  If  there  was  ever  a  case 
in  which  the  adage  nobleue  oblige  could  be  ap- 
positely cited  to  enforce  honorable  conduct,  as- 
suredly the  essential  nobility  of  our  priestly  char- 
acter imposes  on  us  the  obligation  of  being  more 
intensely  and  whole-heartedly  loyal  to  the  Church 
and  her  supreme  head,  the  Sovereign  Fontiflf,  than 
is  the  strongest  partisan  to  his  political  chief,  the 
most  devoted  patriot  to  his  country,  or  the  most 
affectionate  son  to  his  parents.  In  just  that  de- 
gree in  which  the  joul  outranks  the  body  and  the 
eternal  transcends  the  temporal,  priestly  loyalty 
to  our  Mother  the  Church  and  to  our  Holy  Father 
le  Pope  should  ctrank  and  transcend  any  other 
allegiance,  fealty,  devotedness,  or  love  to  be  found 
on  earth. 

As  a  matter  of  contemporary  fact,  is  our  loy- 
ty  of  this  high  charar'ter  and  standard?  Do  we 
habitually  look  upon  devotion  to  the  Church  as 
one  of  those  primal  duties  that  "shine  aloft  like 
stars"  and  will  not  be  ignored?  And  is  our  de- 
votion of  the  practical,  unvisionary  kind  that 
translates  itself  into  concrete  acts?  Is  there  no 
danger  of  our  lapsing  into  a  state  of  mind  in 
which  the  Church  t^kes  on  the  vague  and  nebu- 
lous form  of  a  mere  abstraction,  a  more  or  less 
glorious  entity,  but  an  ideal  one  to  which  in  actual 
everyday  life  there  corresponds  no  tangible  real- 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    205 


ity?  Do  we  oufflclently  often  meditate  on  the 
Church  and  endeavor  to  get  a  just  and  fairly  ade- 
quate conception  of  what  she  is,  and  what  she 
means  to  the  world  at  large  and  to  ourselves  indi- 
vidually? Would  it  not  come  to  us  in  the  nature 
of  a  surprise  to  learn  that,  far  from  being  uni- 
formly loyul  to  her  and  to  the  Pop  we  not  infre- 
quently manifest  the  most  ungrateiul  disloyalty 
and  constructive  treason  to  both?  One  may  be 
disloyal  without  breaking  out  into  open  rebellion. 
It  is  possible  to  incur  the  stigma  without  proclaim- 
ing one's  self  a  Modernist  or  advocating,  in  pre- 
posterous pride  of  intellect,  opinions  verging  on 
downright  heresy.  It  is  possible  even  to  profess 
unshaken  loyalty  lo  Mother  Church  in  the  verj' 
breath  in  which  one  equivalently  questions  her 
authority,  her  jurisdiction,  her  power,  or  her 
prudence. 

Is  it  loyalty  to  the  Church,  or  the  reverse  of 
that  quality,  to  lay  such  stress  on  the  human  side 
of  her  organization  and  adn-inistration  as  to  sug- 
gest that  she  is  no  more  the.,  a  man-made  society 
subject  to  all  the  weaknesses  of  other  political  or 
social  bodies?  Does  the  truly  loyal  priest  talk 
about  ecclesiastical  appointments  or  the  confer- 
ring of  ecclesiastical  honors  and  dignities  as  if 
they  were  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  entirely 
natural  results  of  astute  wire-pulling  and  the  judi- 
cious outlay  of  benefactions  that  call  for  a  quid 
pro  quo?  Does  he  think  of  the  election  of  a  new 
Pope  as  of  a  matter  in  which  the  preponderant 
influence  and  the  determining  factor  is  the  na- 
tionality of  the  majority  of  the  cardinals  who  cast 


206 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i  I: 

1   ir- 


their  votes?  Does  he  think  and  speak  of  these 
and  such  like  matters  as  if  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
nothing  more  to  do  with  them  than  with  the  be- 
stowal of  an  honorary  collegiate  degree  or  the 
election  of  a  congressman  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives? 

Again,  in  the  matter  of  dogmas,  decisions,  and 
discipline,  is  it  consistent  with  genuine  priestly 
loyalty  to  be  forever  drawing  fine-spun  distinc- 
tions between  points  on  which  the  Church  or  the 
Pope  is,  or  is  not,  infallible?    Apart  from  loyalty 
altogether,  does  the  ordinary  priest  who  permits 
himself  a  good  deal  o^  loose  talk  about  such  topics 
take   sufficient  heed   of   a    consideration   which 
Father  Joyce,  S.J.,  thus  calls  attention  to:    "More- 
over, theologians  are  agreed  that  the  gift  of  m- 
fallibility  in  regard  to  the  deposit  (of  the  faith) 
must,  by  necessary  consequence,  carry  with  it  in- 
fallibility as  to  certain  matters  intimately  related 
to  the  Faith.    There  are  questions  bearing  so  near- 
ly on  the  preservation  of  the  Faith  that,  could  the 
Church  err  in  these,  her  infallibility  would  not 
suffice  to  guard   the  flock  from  false  doctrine. 
Such,  for  instance,  is  the  decision  whether  a  given 
book   does   or   does   not  contain   teaching   con- 
demned as  heretical."    To  take  a  concrete  case  or 
two  occurring  within  recent  years,  have  the  com- 
ments which  the  reader  of  this  page  has  heard 
from  priestly  lips  (or,  it  may  be,  has  himself 
made)  on  Pius  X.'s  Motu  propria  on  plain  chant 
or  his  decree  Sacra  Tridentina  Synodus  on  fre- 
quent and  daily  Communion,  been  invariably  ex- 
pressions of  unquestioning  loyalty  to  the  Holy 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    207 


Father?  Have  they  not  sometimes  rather  been 
censorious  criUcisms  on  the  Pope's  acUon,  pre- 
sumptuous declarations  as  to  the  want  of  wisdom 
or  expediency  or  prudence  shown  in  the  papal  de- 
sires or  commands,  and  (to  qualify  them  as  they 
really  deserve  to  be  qualified)  thoroughly  imperti- 
nent animadversions  on  matters  beyond  the  com- 
petency of  the  speakers  to  decide? 

Only  two  or  three  years  ago  the  present  writer 
found  himself  rather  unexpectedly  called  upon 
to  take  the  side  of  the  Pope  in  an  after-dinner  dis- 
cussion about  the  Holy  Father's  allowing  children 
to   go   to   Communion   much    earlier   than   had 
hitherto  been  the  general  practice.     My  opponent 
in  the  discussion  was  my  senior  in  years  and  my 
superior  in  rank— he  wore  the  purple;  so  it  be- 
hooved me  to  be  guarded  in  my  expression  of 
dissent    from     his     views.      Somebody     having 
broached  the  subject  of  the  Pope's  recent  action 
concerning  the  Communion  of  children;  the  man 
with  the  purple  remarked:    "Well,  I  don't  see  any 
necessity  of  going  into  hysterics  about  the  matter. 
Personally,  I  shall  continue  to  let  my  children 
make  their  First  Communion  at  the  age  of  twelve 
or  thereabouts."    Some  measure  of  surprise  hav- 
ing been  manifested  at  this  avowed  opposition  to 
the  wishes  of  tiie  Sovereign  Pontiff,  he  explained 
that  opposition,  the  gist  of  his  argument  being 
contained,  apparently,  in  the  rhetorical  interroga- 
tion, "What  can  children  of  seven  or  eight  under- 
stand of  the  Blessed  Eucharist  and  the  mystery 
of  Transubstantiation?"    The  rather  obvious  re- 
ply was:    "If  it  comes  to  that,  what  can  we  under- 


208 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


stand  of  the  mystery?    You  and  I  take  it  on  faith, 
and   so   will   the   children."    The   incident   was 
rather  forcibly  impressed  on  my  memory  by  the 
action  of  a  third  person,  a  venerable  cleric  who 
nodded  wise  approval  and  ejaculated  many   a 
"Just  so"  while  my  opponent  was  talking,  and 
who,  the  very  next  day,  in  conversation  with  a 
foreign  Monsignor,  a  member  of  the  Roman  Rota, 
gave  the  same  tokens  of  approbation  to  that  dig- 
nitary's diarneti-ically  opposite  argument  on  the 
same  question.    "It  is  always  best  on  these  occa- 
sions," said  the  immortal  Mr.  Pickwick,     to  do 
what  the  mob  does."-"But  suppose  there  are  wo 
mobs?"-"Shout   witl^    the   largest,"  rephed    ir. 
Pickwick.    If  we  read  "nob"  instead  of    mob    in 
the  foregoing,  we  will  have  the  explanation  of 
not  a  litUe  disloyalty  manifested  by  some  clerics 
to  tfie  Church  and  the  Holy  See.         ,    ,      ^  , 

One  too  familiar  instance  of  the  lack  of  true 
loyalty  to  all  that  Rome  and  the  Vatican  stand 
for  in  Catholic  thought  is  tiie  question,    What  do 
the  Pope  and  the  heads  of  those  Roman  Congre- 
gations understand  about  conditions  in  this  coun- 
try?"   The  suggestion  is,  of  course,  that  there  can 
be  only  one  answer,  "Littie  or  nothing."    Equally 
of  course,  tiie  answer  is  grotesquely  incorrect.    It 
is  tolerably  certain  that,  nine  times  out  of  ten,  or 
rather  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred,  the 
conditions  in  this  Country  are  both  far  better 
known  and  immeasurably  better  understood  by 
the  Church  authorities  in  Rome  than  by  the  not 
too  reverent  cleric  who  more  or  less  flippanUy 
asks  Uie  question.    After  all,  the  man  seated  on 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH 


209 


the  summit  of  a  lofty  tower  may  reasonably  be 
credited  with  a  somewhat  wider  outlook  than  that 
of  the  sitter  in  a  valley  or  a  well;  and  if  the  com- 
paratively obscure  parish  priest  imagines  that  the 
White  Shepherd  of  Christiandom  ignores  the  cur- 
rents of  ecclesiastical,  or  even  political,  social,  and 
industrial  thought  in  the  United  States,  he  is  less 
conversant  with  the  universality  of  the  Church 
and  the  universal  character  of  the  information 
reaching  the  Holy  Father  than  is  at  all  to  his 
credit.  It  is  not  impossible  indeed  that  Rome  may 
know  considerably  more  about  the  critic's  own 
personality  than  he  is  aware  of  or  can  conceive 
to  be  likely. 

To  broach  another  phase  of  our  subject: 
thoroughgoing  loyalty  is  due  to  the  Church  not 
only  when  she  is  exercising  her  potestas  magis- 
terii, — preaching  Christ's  doctrines,  denouncing 
heresies,  and  settling  disputes  on  matters  of  faith; 
not  only  when  she  is  showing  forth  her  potestas 
jurisdictionis,— in  governing  the  faithful,  in  lay- 
ing down  laws  and  watchidg  over  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  observed,  and  in  punishing  trans- 
gressors; but  'Iso  when  she  is  exercising  her 
potestas  ordinis  in  offering  the  holy  sacrifice  of 
the  Mass,  in  administering  sacraments  and  using 
sacramentals.  Discussing  the  Liturgy,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Scannell  (in  "The  Pnest's  Studies")  says :  "I 
take  it  for  granted  that  a  priest  will  say  his  Mass, 
recite  his  Office,  and  administer  the  Sacraments 
with  due  attention  to  all  the  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  Church."  Is  it  uncharitable  to  sug- 
gest that  there  are  some  priests  concerning  whom 

14 


210 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i  ■ 


mm 


m 


J  e 


m 


he  is  taking  too  much  for  granted?   "All  the  regu- 
lations prescribed  by  the  Church"  is  a  compre- 
hensive phrase,  and  includes  a  number  of  minor 
points  and  niceties  of  rubrical  requirements,  be- 
lief in  the  universal  carrying  out  of  which  implies 
an  unusually  optimistic  temperament.    If  we  sup- 
pose a  priest  to  be  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  Church, 
obeying  her  every  behest  not  merely  with  fidelity 
but  with  superadded  love,  then  indeed  we  may 
look  for  the  most  exact  observance  of  all  her  rites 
and  ceremonies  ordained  by  her,  and  look,  too, 
for  a  full  knowkdge  of  the  history  and  syml    lism 
of  those  rites  and  ceremonies,  as  for  an  adequate 
appreciation  of  their  meaning  and  their  beauty. 

Can  it  be  truthfully  affirmed  that  such  loyalty 
is  the  rule,  rather  than  the  exception,  among  the 
priests  of  our  acquaintance?     Does  the  average 
cleric  with  whom  we  habitually  come  in  contact 
manifest  almost  scrupulous  care  in  obeying  the 
least  of  the  rubrics,  in  observing  the  minor  de- 
tails of  the  multipUed  rites  and  ceremonies  in- 
volved in  the  celebration  of  Mass  or  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Sacraments?    And  can  he  give 
you  offhand  either  an  illuminating  explanation 
of  their  significance  or  an  intelligent  summary  of 
their  history?    Yet  to  ask  this  much  from  a  com- 
missioned officer  in  the  Church's  army  is  surely 
not  to  make  an  exorbitant  demand  on  his  time  or 
good-will.     "Wherever,"    writes    Father    Miiller, 
"there  are  love  and  reverence,  we  may  feel  as- 
sured, not  only  of  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the 
symbolism  of  the  holy  rites  and  holy  vestments, 
but  of  that  profound  attention  and  devotion  which 


^-'Mi 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH    211 


the  august  Sacrifice  should  demand  and  inspire." 
And  the  same  author  asks  the  entirely  pertinent 
questions:  "Have  I  entertained  for  the  rubrics 
and  ceremonies  the  respect  due  to  the  divine  au- 
thority from  which  they  emanate  and  to  the  ob- 
ject for  which  they  have  been  ordained?  Have 
I  shown  this  respect  by  studying  them  and  com- 
mitting them  to  memory  and  by  observing  them 
faithfully?  If  it  is  a  shame  for  a  soldier  not  to 
know  the  rules  of  military  drill;  if  it  is  a  disgrace 
for  a  person  of  high  standing  not  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  rules  of  etiquette,  it  is  certainly  a  greater 
shame  for  a  priest  not  to  know  the  rubrics  re- 
specting the  proper  behavior  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  the  dispensation  of  the  divine  mysteries." 

If  ignorance  of  the  rubrics  be,  as  the  author 
just  quoted  says  with  truth,  shameful  in  a  priest, 
non-observance  of  rubrics  which  he  knows  is  as- 
suredly not  less  reprehensible.  Yet  it  is  hardly  a 
phenomenal  occurrence  for  a  priest  to  neglect  a 
minor,  or  supposedly  minor,  prescription  of  the 
rubrics,  on  the  plea  ofttimes  that  it  is  purely  di- 
rective, and  consequently  does  not  oblige  under 
pain  of  sin.  Needless  to  say  such  a  plan  elim- 
inates at  once  any  question  of  loyalty  to  the 
Church.  If  love  of  cur  Spiritual  Mother  enters, 
as  we  have  said,  into  our  conception  of  priestly 
loyalty  to  her  and  to  her  ordinances,  there  can 
be  no  degree  of  the  noble  quality  in  him  who 
grudgingly  gives  her  only  that  amount  of  serv- 
ice which  he  cannot  withhold  without  incurring 
the  displeasure  of  God.  What  would  be  said  of 
the  loyalty  of  a  mere  human  friend  whose  af- 


212 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I* 


fection  or  esteem  was  measured  by  a   similar 
scale,  whose  friendliness  bore  a  direct  proportion 
to  his  own  interest,  and  ceased  when  that  inter- 
est was  in  any  degree  endangered?    Genuine  love 
does  not  act  in  this  calculating  manner;  it  gives 
unstintedly  of  its  service,  and  joys  in  the  giving. 
And  not  until  we  love  the  Church  in  verity  and 
in  deed,  envisaging  her  as  our  most  lovable  and 
gracious  Mother  who  is  forever  lavishing  upon  us, 
her  chosen  sons,  the  choicest  favors  and  blessings, 
shall  we  acquit  ourselves  with  even  approximate 
worthiness  of  the  various  daily  duties  she  assigns 
to  us  in  virtue  of  her  potestas  ordin's,  not  until 
then  shall  we  perform  \he  august  functions  of  cel- 
ebrating her  adorable  Sacrifice  and  administer- 
ing her  grace-laden  Sacraments  with  congruous 
reverence,  completeness,  and  exactitude. 

Mere  lip-loyalty  to  Mother  Church  and  her 
visible  head  on  earth  is  as  easy  as  it  is  inadequate. 
Any  one  of  us  can  sound  their  praises  in  grandilo- 
quent phraseology  in  a  special  sermon  on  the 
feast  of  Pentecost  or  at  a  corner-stone  laying  or 
a  dedication,  just  as  we  can  expatiate  at  length 
on  their  glorious  prerogatives  and  their  magnifi- 
cent services  to  humanity,  should  we  be  called  on 
to  respond  to  a  toast  in  their  honor,  or  to  prepare 
a  conference-paper  on  the  subject;  but  heart- 
loyalty  implies  far  more  than  such  occasional  ex- 
pressions of  fidelity  and  allegiance.  It  is  a  perma- 
nent fire  illuming  and  warming  our  habitual 
everyday  existence,  permeating  each  of  our  priest- 
ly activities,  and  radiating  its  beneficent  influ- 
ence on  all  with  whom  we  come  in  contact.    It 


LOYALTY  TO  MOTHER  CHURCH   213 


manifests  itself  in  a  hundred  diverse  ways, — in 
the  interest  we  express  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
Church's  larger  affairs,  and  in  the  pains  we  take 
to  have  our  people  contribute  generously  to  the 
Peter's  Pence  and  collections  for  the  seminary 
and  the  missions;  in  the  protests  we  voice  against 
unjust  encroachments  on  the  rights  of  the  Vatican, 
and  in  the  zeal  we  display  in  fostering  the  growth 
of  the  Catholic  press;  in  the  building  of  church 
or  school  or  convent  for  the  extension  of  religious 
work,  and  in  the  care  with  which  we  observe  each 
little  rubric  in  saying  Mass  or  reciting  the  office; 
in  our  public  denunciation  of  professed  enemies 
of  the  Faith,  and  in  our  private  remonstrance  to 
a  brother  priest  who  speaks  with  undue  levity  of 
Rome's  policy  and  tactics;  in  our  untiring  efforts 
to  make  our  parishioners  genuinely  worthy  chil- 
dren of  Holy  Church,  and  especially  in  our  per- 
severing daily  and  hourly  endeavors  to  intensify 
our  personal  interior  life  and  attain  a  more  and 
more  intimate  union  with  God. 


XIII 


y 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 

Wiiose  sins  you  ibftU  forgive,  thoy  are  forgiven  them.— St. 
John:  XX,  tS. 

If  we  had  good  confeuora  everywhere,  we  would  soon  aee  a 
complete  reform  in  the  world. — Pope  Piu»  V. 

Aa  when  a  cautious  mother  deems  her  boy 
In  peril  of  a  fall,  she  loudly  chides, 
Yet  when  he  falls  full  quickly  lifts  him  up, 
Prompt  pardon  grants  unto  the  weeping  child, 
And  fondly  kisses  all  his  tears  away; 
So  let  the  priest  rebuke  each  erring  one, 
Yet  kindly  lift  the  sinner  fallen  low. 
To  fall  but  human  is;  to  rise,  divine: 
Who  stretches  forth  in  love  a  helping  hand 
To  raise  the  prostrate  doth  an  angers  part. 
So  wish,  BO  order  I,  the  clergy's  Queen, 
That  pastors  ever  greet  with  kindly  yearning 
Eaeh   truant   member   to  the   'old   returning. 

— From  the  Latin  0/  Father  Alieeri,  C.  M. 

NO  man  cares  to  be  told  that  in  the  estimation 
of  his  fellows  he  is  inclined  to  take  himself 
too  seriously.  The  implicatiou  that  he  cherishes 
an  altogether  exaggerated  sense  of  his  own  im- 
portance and  deems  himself  a  considerably  more 
potent  factor  in  the  effective  control  and  smooth 
running  of  the  world  in  general  and  his  own 
town,  city,  or  State  in  particular  than  is  really  the 
case  is  a  blow  to  his  vanity,  that  unlovely  qual- 
ity or  character  which  a  contemporary  essayist 
declares  to  be  as  common  as  fingers.  It  is  ques- 
tionable, however,  whether  taking  one's  self  too 
seriously  is  on  the  whole  eithe  so  grave  or  so 
prevalent  a  fault  as  is  the  opposx     characteristic 

214 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


215 


of  taking  one's  self  too  flippantly.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  indeed  that  most  men  do  not  take  seri- 
ously enough  into  consideration  the  influence, 
good  or  bad,  of  their  individual  example  among 
those  with  whom  they  habitually  come  in  con- 
tact And  it  is  equally  indubitable  that  some  men 
are  endowed  with  powers  so  extraordinary  and 
entrusted  with  functions  so  sublime  that  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  of  their  attaching  undue  im- 
portance to  their  responsibilities.  In  so  far  as  the 
clergy  are  concerned,  it  is  probable  that  the  aver- 
age priest  is  so  little  prone  to  take  himself  and 
his  various  duties  too  seriously  that  he  may  well 
be  reminded  from  time  to  time  of  the  incompara- 
ble dignity  of  his  calling  and  the  danger  of  his 
taking  all  too  lightly  the  various  tremendously 
important  duties  connected  therewith. 

In  the  matter  of  the  violet  stole,  for  instance, 
does  the  ordinary  pastor  who  spends  a  consider- 
able number  of  hours  per  week,  if  not  per  day, 
in  the  confessional,  habitually  take  thought  of 
the  transcendant  import  of  the  function  of  which 
he  acquits  himself  as  often  as  he  puts  that  stole 
upon  his  shoulders  and  sits  down  to  listen  to  the 
penitent  sinners  who  come  to  him  as  the  direct 
and  divinely  delegated  representative  of  God 
Himself?  Does  he  sufficiently  often  recall  the 
awful  reverence  and  impressive  solemnity  of  his 
sentiments  on  that  fateful  morning  when  he  felt 
the  ordaining  bishop's  hands  upon  his  head  and 
heard  the  prelate  say:  "Receive  the  Ho?y  Ghost; 
whose  sins  you  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven 
them,  and  whose  sins  you  shall  retain  they  are 
retained?"    Does  he,  occasionally,  at  least,  divest 


216 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


".J 


his  mind  of  routinism  or  automatism,  dip  below 
the  surface  of  his  more  or  less  frivolous  thoughts, 
and  meditate  in  all  serio  >css  his  prerogative  of 
forgiving  sins?  His  exert* sing  the  prerogative  is 
an  ordinary,  everyday,  commonplace  occurrence; 
and  for  that  very  reason  he  is  all  the  more  apt 
to  minimize  its  gravity  and  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  less  marvelous  *Van  it  is  common. 

The  more  one  ponders  over  the  absolving 
power  vested  in  the  priest  and  weighs  its  full  im- 
port and  extent,  the  more  one  is  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  responsibility  as  well  as 
the  dignity  of  our  vocation,  and  the  less  danger 
one  runs  of  incurring  the  anathema,  Maledictus 
qui  facit  opus  Dei  negligenter.  Small  wonder 
that  the  unbelieving  Scribes,  when  they  saw  that 
power  exercised  by  the  first  Christian  Priest  in 
favor  of  the  man  sick  with  the  palsy,  exclaimed : 
"He  blasphemethi  Who  can  forgive  sins,  but  God 
only?"  If  one  of  us,  by  merely  raising  his  hand 
in  blessing,  could  transform  a  dreary  tract  of 
sodden  quagmire  or  marsh  into  a  flower  garden 
of  surpassing  loveliness,  or  change  with  equal  fa- 
cility a  foul  cesspool  into  a  sparkling  fountain  of 
living  water,  there  is  no  question  that  we  our- 
selves and  all  who  might  witness  our  act  would 
be  stupendously  impressed  by  the  sight;  yet  we 
are  fully  aware  that  such  a  transformation  would 
be  incomparably  less  wonderful  than  the  change 
actually  wrought  in  the  sinner  when  the  priest 
pronounces  the  words  of  absolution,  and  the  soul, 
blacker  than  ebony  or  coal,  is  forthwith  made 
whiter  than  the  lily  or  the  driven  snow. 

The  beneficiary  of  a  powerful  agent  is  per- 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


217 


haps  more  likely  to  appreciate  the  power  at  its 
proper  worth  than  is  the  agent  himself,  who  ex- 
ercises it  as  a  matter  of  course  and  in  a  manner 
possibly  more  perfunctory  than  earnest;  and  ac- 
cordingly the  average  priest  may  more  accurate- 
ly estimate  the  surpassing  value  of  absolution  in 
the  r61e  of  penitent  than  in  that  of  confessc  r. 
Let  us  take  a  concrete  case.    Suppose  the  reader 
of  this  page,  a  priest,  has  the  misfortune  to  fall 
a  victim  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours  to  a 
serious  accident  or  a  fatal  epidemic.    You  are 
taker  to  a  hospital,  are  examined,  and  are  told 
as  mercifully  as  may  be  that  your  course  is  run, 
that  your  life  is  rapidly  ebbing  away,  that  in  an 
hour  or  two  at  the  latest  you  will  have  breathed 
your  last.    Fast   on   that   terrifying  information 
there  comes  (to  suppose  the  improbable)  the  ap- 
palling thought  that  you  are  guilty  of  at  least  one 
mortal  sin.    Now,  more  than  ever  before  in  life, 
you  need  the  exercise  of  some  beneficent  power 
to  relieve  the  anguish  of  your  soul.     Who  will 
supply  it?    Who,  be  its  agent? 

In  the  estimation  of  our  twentieth-century 
world,  the  pre-eminent  power  on  earth  is  wealth. 
Well,  let  there  come  to  your  bedside  the  moneyed 
men  of  your  district,  the  millionaires  of  your 
State,  or  the  multi-millionaires,— Rothschilds, 
Camegies,  and  Rockefellers,— of  international  re- 
nown. And  what  can  they  do  for  you?  Remove, 
it  may  be,  some  minor  care  by  assuring  you  that 
some  dependent  of  yours  will  be  provided  for; 
but  in  the  matter  of  your  one  overwhelming  woe! 
they  can  do  absolutely  nothing.  What  of  the 
civil  power  of  organized  society?    Let  there  be 


II   '■  ■>? 


218 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


brought  into  your  chamber  of  death  the  mayor 
of  your  city,  the  governor  of  your  State,  the  pre»- 
ident  of  the  Republic:  and  what  can  they  do  for 
you?  The  governor  and  president  have,  it  it  true, 
in  certain  conjunctures,  the  power  of  life  and 
death.  They  can  pardon  the  perpetrators  of 
death-deserving  crimes  against  State  or  federal 
laws;  but  with  regard  to  the  pardon  for  which 
you  are  longing  with  an  agony  of  desire,  they  are 
as  impotent  as  a  babe  in  arms.  **Knowledge  is 
power,**  declare  the  advocates  of  human  learning. 
So  be  it.  Let  there  come  to  your  death -bed 
the  most  erudite  scholars,  the  most  eminent 
scientists,  the  subtlest  philosophers,  the  sub- 
limest  poets,  the  very  master-minds  of  the  world 
in  literature,  art,  and  science,— and  what  can  they 
do  for  you?   Nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 

Let  there  enter  representatives  of  a  different 
class,— pious.  God-fearing  neighbors,  venerable 
Religious  Brothers  many  of  wnose  faith-ruled, 
unobtrusive,  hidden  lives  are  among  the  sweetest 
poems  that  humanity  sings  to  its  Maker;  or  the 
most  saintly  of  those  holy  Sisters  whose  virginal 
hearts  are  so  often  crystal  chalices  brimming  over 
with  the  consecrated  nectar  of  love  divine, — and 
what  can  these  do  for  you?  Something  at  least. 
They  can  pray  for  you,  can  beg  God's  mercy  on 
your  terrified  soul;  but  that  is  all.  The  one  tre- 
mendous burden  of  sin  under  which  you  are 
weighed  down  they  are  utterly  powerless  to  re- 
move. Turn  from  earth  to  Heaven.  Let  the 
miraculous  occur,  saints  and  angels  entering  your 
chamber.    Let  your  eyes  behold  the  great  pre- 


THE  VIOLBT  STOLE 


319 


cunor  of  Our  Lord,  him  of  whom  ChrUt  Hlm- 
■elf  said :   **Ameii,  I  lay  to  you,  amongst  those  that 
are  bom  of  woman,  there  is  not  a  greater  than 
John  the  BapUst."    Near  him  let  there  stand  the 
foster-father  of  Jesus,   the   patron   of  a   happy 
death.  St.  Joseph.    Near  him  again  let  there  be 
the  mightiest  of  the  angeUc  hosts,  the  Archangels 
Michael  and  Gabriel  and  Raphael.    Once  more, 
what  can  these  do  for  you?    Nothing  diflferent  in 
kind  from  what  your  earthly  friends  can  do.   They 
can  pray  that  your  sins  may  be  forgiven,  but  to 
forgive  them  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  greatest 
of  them  all.    Nay,  let  there  join  the  group  around 
your  death-couch  the  peerless  Queen  of  saints  and 
angels,  the  Immaculate  Mother  of  God,  herself. 
Not  even  she  can  do  more  than  pray,  than  inter- 
cede  for   your   pardon.     Powerful,    almost    all- 
powerful  as  is  her  intercession,  sUll  it  is  inter- 
cession only:  she  cannot  remit  your  sins. 

And  now,  mto  that  "h amber  where  the  repre- 
sentatives of  all  this  varied  power  and  might 
stand  helpless  to  render  you  the  one  service  of 
which  you  are  in  such  awful  need,  let  there  come 
one  of  your  brother  priests.  Let  him  be,  if  you 
will,  the  youngest  in  years,  the  least  prepossessing 
in  features,  the  most  deficient  in  culture,  the  most 
wanUng  in  natural  ability  and  acquired  science, 
and  even  the  least  noted  for  piety  of  all  the 
eighteen  thousand  clerics  scattered  through  this 
country,— and  what  can  he  do  for  you?  Ah 
rather,  what  can  he  not  do  for  you?  With  the 
light  of  hope  transfiguring  your  visage,  vo  ,  whis- 
per a  few  words  into  his  ear;  and  raising  nis  hand 


220 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


above  you,  he  says,  not  "I  will  pray  God  to  remit 
your  sins,"  not  "I  will  beseech  our  Heavenly 
Father  to  pardon  your  transgressions;"  but,  with 
the  tranquil  assurance  of  conscious  power:  "I  ab- 
solve thee  from  thy  sins  in  the  name  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  At  his 
wondrous  word  your  burden  vanishes,  death  is 
robbed  of  its  terrors,  and  your  soul  goes  confident- 
ly forth  to  meet  its  Judge,  for  you  know  that  your 
sins  are  as  certainly  forgiven  as  if  that  very  Judge, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself,  stood  at  your  side,  and  per- 
sonally assured  you  of  His  pardon. 

Yes,  this  power  ovet  the  mystic  body  of  Our 
Lord  which  we  exercise  in  the  confessional  is  a 
truly  marvelous  one,  and  there  is  little  danger 
of  our  exaggerating  the  care  and  attention  and 
earnestness  with  which  we  habitually  acquit  our- 
selves of  so  really  Godlike  a  function.  The  genu- 
ine danger  is  all  the  other  way;  that  we  may  come 
to  regard  the  hearing  of  confessions  simply  as  an 
unavoidable  and  unwelcome  part  of  our  day's 
work,  may  perform  the  work  in  a  hurried,  per- 
functory, or  careless  fashion,  may  even  neglect 
to  take  the  proper  means  of  fitting  ourselves  for 
the  adequate  and  effective  administration  of  the 
sacrament  of  penance.  And  just  here  it  may  be 
well  to  remark  that  the  mere  fact  of  our  having 
passed  successful  examinations  in  moral  theology 
before  we  were  ordained  and  annually  for  five 
years  after  our  ordination,  or  our  having  pos- 
sessed "faculties"  and  exercised  the  ministry  of 
the  stole  for  fifteen,  twenty,  or  twenty-five  years, 
do  not  of  themselves  constitute  unimpeachable 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


221 


guaraHoes  that  we  are  as  well  versed  in  theo- 

be  /?'  ^'"?  '  P""^^P^es  «f  moral  theology  may 
dDlertn  ',^"*  '^'  application  of  thosfprin^ 

causes  iVn?      """f/  ^°^"^*'  "«"^»y  «f  Particular 
cases  IS  not  a  matter  to  be  mastered  by  an  ordi- 

na^  mmd  m  a  three,  four,  or  six  years'  cou^e 

Th:  rariHhrt''"  r  't  °"^'^  ^'^'y  *-"«- 

studv  n  /  ?  '  .""^^''  *^^  P"^«t  keeps  up  his 
study  not  only  of  moral  theology  itself  but  of 
other  branches  of  theological  sciLe  as  well   h. 

ycardefeT-  "'^^V°  '^^""'^  ^  *^  ^ «"-  o 
knowlpdf        '    ""^^^'^    **^«°    proficient    in    the 

tent.  To  °^  experience  in  hearing  peni- 

Ihot-       ^  7^^  "^"^  ^"^r^^^e  one's  aptitude  in 

theology  IS  merely  a  matter  of  common  sensTan 

o  any  reader  who  peruses  a  few  pages  of  nnm!^ 
ter  what  volume  of  "Cases  of  ConsSe  "      "'*" 
Instead  of  relying  on  the  store  of  theological 
knowledge  acquired  in  the  seminarv  the  iudirl.? 
clmc.  and  more  especially  the  cle^i  whrhtbUu! 


f7 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


ally  exercises  the  ministry  of  the  stole,  does  as 
does  the  conscientious  physician  or  lawyer,— he 
keeps  himself  posted  on  the  latest  developm  nts 
of  his  special  science.    He  not  only  re-reads  old 
theologies  and  new,  but  he  subscribes  for  and  at- 
tentively peruses  such  periodicals  as  professedly 
deal  with  sacerdotal  science  in  general  and  moral 
questions  in  particular.    We  all  know  the  dictum 
of  St.  Alphonsus,  "Nullus  confessarius  intermit- 
tere  debet  theologiae  moralis  studium,"  and  mort 
priests  who  follow  his  advice  will  acknowledge 
that  such  study  is  necessary  not  only  to  learn 
what  we  have  never  known  but  to  recall  what  we 
may  have  forgotten.    In  declaring,  a  few  moments 
ago,  that  the  judicious  cleric  reads  and  re-reads 
old  theologies  and  new,  we  had  in  mind  a  reflec- 
tion made  by  a  writer  whose  long  years  on  the 
mission  entitle  him  to  some  prestige  as  a  prac- 
tical adviser  on  priestly  topics.  Canon  Keatinge. 
He  says:    "The  most  recent  books  appeal  to  us 
most   strongly.    The    more   nearly    a   book    ap- 
proaches our  own  time  the  more  readily  is  it  like- 
ly to  appreciate  the  particular  form  of  difficulty 
which  besets  us,  and  its  answer  tends  to  satisfy 
us,  not  necessarily  because  it  is  more  lax,  but  be- 
cause it  grasps  better  a  situation  that  did  not  ex- 
ist  when    the   older   theologians   wrote.    Hence, 
while  I  should  take  my  principles  from  the  giants 
of  theology— De  Lugo,  St.  Thomas,  Suarez— I  am 
inclined  to  seek  at  the  lips  of  the  latest  of  their 
disciples  who  can  get  an  imprimatur  the  practical 
application   of   these   principles   to   our   present 
needs.** 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


223 


aged  confessor  u  needed  to  convince  him  that 

.  m  today  which  in  their  present  specific  form 
did  not  e„st  when  he  left  the  seminary;  and 
wlule  It  IS   true   that   their  solution  evei  ually 

waf  tht  '"«**  «'"«""  P"-'?'-  in  which  he 
was  then  proficient,  he  would  he  perhaps  rather 
rash  than  prudent  to  trust  to  his  peLnaTappUc" 
Uon  of  those  principles  instead  of  consulUng  an- 

?n«  The  h.^  "'"'  ""??  «""•<=<•  "y  '"eir  tfach- 
n.t  7  .  •""'"«»  wo'ld.  for  instance,  with  its 
new  developments  in  speculation,  its  dealings  in 
options  and  '-futures;"  the  complicated  quesUons 
involved  m  fire  and  life  insu^nce;  the  many! 
aided  issues  arising  from  the  ever-varying  re"a- 

mat.  ,  need  specialized  treatoient  by  a  thorough- 
"y  '  !  theological  expert  in  order  that  thev 

r„7.  V -'^V'"'-  to  the  ordinary  priest  whols 

?e«ionarVh""  ""•"*' '"  "»  °°««  ""he  con! 
fessional.    There  are,  too,  new  Bulls  and  Decrees 

by  Sovereign  PonUfTs,  decisions  by  Roman  Co^ 

e^run^^re't  r"'  "'■""'""^  »'an?rn"ed°o"; 
expert  mtei^jretation-recent  matrimonial  leaisla- 
hon  for  instance-and  as  the  confessor  is  oSd 
in  conscience  to  know  their  correct  meanin.  h. 
must  obviously  seek  the  sources,  ieXoZcal 
periodicals,  in  which  that  meaning  1,  set  fort* 

«„„  r"!?  f  /"=*"'  ••«««»•  «h«  Sacra  7n-den. 
Una  Synodui  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  ih,. 

uecember,  1905.  is    perhaps  as  revoluUonar^  a 


?,; 


M 

iff 


224 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


piece  of  legislation  affecting  the  confessor  as  has 
been  enacted  in  centuries.  Its  declarations  con- 
cerning frequent  and  daily  Communion,  with  the 
subsequent  provisions  regarding  the  Communion 
of  children,  postulate  a  somewhat  radical  de- 
parture from  the  practice  hitherto  advocated  by 
pastors  or  obtaining  among  their  parishioners.  It 
is  not  at  all  surprising  that,  among  the  first  re- 
flections made  by  the  parochial  clergy  on  reading 
the  decree  was  the  thought:  "That  means  an 
enormous  increase  in  my  work;"  nor  will  it  be 
considered  very  uncharitable  to  suggest  that  pos- 
sibly that  same  consideration  explains  why  not 
all  pastors  evince  noticeably  zeal  in  adviting  their 
flocks  to  accede  to  the  desire  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  by  approaching  the  Holy  Table  several 
times  a  week  if  not  every  day.  That  multiplied 
Communions  presuppose  multiplied  confessions, 
necessitating  a  considerable  number  of  hours 
daily  in  the  confessional,  may  seem  at  first  blush 
a  mere  truism,  but  in  reality  it  is  merely  a 
specious  fallacy.  The  zealous  pastor  who  is  never 
weary  of  counselling  his  people  to  acquire  the 
habit  of  daily  Communion  may  very  properly  ac- 
company his  counsel  with  the  correct  doctrine 
and  practice  as  to  the  preliminary  confession  re- 
quired therefor.  By  dint  of  reiterating  the  truth 
that  sacramental  confession  is  necessary  only 
when  the  penitent  is  guilty  of  a  mortal  sin,  and 
that  one  may  congruously  approach  the  Holy 
Table  every  day  while  going  to  confession  only 
every  week,  or  even  more  rarely,  he  will  ultimate- 
ly impress  upon  their  mintls  the  fact  that  their 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


225 


previous  noUons  on  the  subject  were  quite  .s 

ror/lacTor"  *'"^  ^'^^^  eoncerni„,rsu;! 
posed  lack  of  reverence  manifested  in  the  fre- 
quent reception  of  Holy  Communion. 

To  object  that  "You  can't  cet  it  into  fs«  .. 
pie's  heads  that  it  is  right  to  U  to  th^r'^ 
munion  rail  without  havifg  that'Lln';  or X" 
evening  b  fore  at  the  furthest,  paid  a  visif  to  nh 
o?  :*.,   'J?  "''''"'^  *^^  "^^d  people  of  a  degree 

t^m«  f     t?  ""^y  °^  *^°"rs"  take  some  little 

habU  o'  T"i  *'  "^  *^^™^^^^^«  «^  th-^-  form  r 
?ust  as  U  h«f  rT°*  P"^"  *°  ^^^^  Communion! 
ie  over  their  r^  ?'  ''  *"^^"«  '^'  ^°^  ^^em  to 
freoulmiv  thl  '°'"  *°  communicate  more 

irequently  than  once  a  month  or  once  a  week- 

rl  *^f^^«°  ^^  no  question  that  whe^  the 
Church's  docti-ine  on  the  matter  is  cllarlv  ex 

cond  t^  *"  *^'™  "^**^  «"^^  insistence  as Ve^' 
conduct  seems  to  call  for.  they  will  make  the  r 
practice  conform  thereto.  At  the  samTtime  the 
^ea  0U3  pastor  should  make  it  abundant^  clear 


226 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


(, 

i  ■' 


:■!;■   , 


to  say  that  of  all  offices  the  office  of  confessor  is 
the  most  important  as  well  as  the  most  difficult. 

And  yet  there  are  times  when  the  personal 
equation  should  be  taken  account  of,  even  if,  on 
the  surface,  the  confessor  appears  to  be  consult- 
ing his  own  comfort  and  ease  rather  than  the  need 
or  convenience  of  his  people.  Every  priest  knows, 
and  every  writer  on  the  priesthood  admits,  that 
to  remain  in  the  confessional  listening  uninter- 
ruptedly to  penitents  for  five  or  six  consecutive 
hours,  or  longer,  is  a  wearisome  ordeal  for  both 
mind  and  body.  Those  priests  who  give  missions 
in  large  parishes  can  best  testify  to  the  genuine 
hardship  of  the  work;  and > most  clerics  have  had 
sufficient  experience  with  Christmas,  Easter,  First 
Friday,  and  Forty  Hours  confessions  to  cor- 
roborate their  testimony.  Now,  while  there  may 
be  no  particular  reason  why  priests  should  not 
have  occasional  periods  of  hard  work,  there  is 
nothing  gained  by  such  a  prolongation  of  ex- 
haustive labor  as  lessens  their  efficiency  in  the 
performance  of  that  work.  With  all  due  submis- 
sion to  older  and  wiser  heads,  the  present  writer 
ventures  the  opinion  that,  in  the  interests  of  the 
penitents  themselves,  however  great  the  crowd 
of  them  may  be,  the  confessor  should,  at  inter- 
vals of  two  and  a  half  or  three  hours,  interrupt 
his  work  for  the  space  of  fifteen  or  twenty  min- 
utes in  order  to  go  outside  and  take  a  welcome 
dose  of  fresh  air.  The  apparent  loss  of  time  re- 
sulting from  such  a  practice  would  be  apparent 
only;  in  reality  the  quantity  of  his  work  would 
be  very  little,  if  at  all,  diminished,  and  its  quality 
would  very  certainly  be  considerably  improved. 


i  f 
I  I 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


227 


^^nu^7  °-^*^  ^^^^  ^^  «°y  ^^«''  *h«t  the  people 
would   misunderstand    such    action    or   attribute 

nsX^sr  If*th"  f'^"  ^  «^°"^°^  -°*-"'^^ 
inspires  it     If  the  leader  of  the  missionary  band 

d[v  and^'n?'  fit'  P^"^*^  "°"^^  announce  s^^ 
ply  and  plainly  that,  in  order  to  secure  the  best 
possible  results  and  give  thoroughly  efficient  se^ 
ice.  the  confessors  would  limit  their  continuous 
hearing  to  two  or  three  hours  and  resume  t  after 
aTr  iorTJ  °'  «"-^--tes  spent  in  the  open 
illness  andT^^r/^  preventing  headaches  L 
dullness  and  lassitude,  the  innovation  would  prob- 

f  m^n  Fp  J  philosophy  of  the  matter  is  that 
hn?.T'  ^^  confessor  or  other  intellectual  la- 
borer, can  do  more  and  better  work  when  he  is 

wherh'e  ir  t're^  ^^'  T'  ^"^^«°^«*^^'  '^- 
wnen  he  is  tired  and  nearly  exhausted.    Applied 

on  a  smaller  scale,  it  is  the  philosophy  of  The  dfs 

^nguished  physician  who  declares"   "It  is  poS^ 

ble  to  do  a  year's  work  in  ten  months,  and^pe^- 

twelve"  aTL'"*  i*  ^^":*  P^^^^^^y  b^  ^ o-^n 
iweiye.        As   against  such  philosophv  and   thp 

prac  ical   application   we   have   maSe   of  "t   th 

pastor  17rZZl'''  '^"'"P^^  °^  th«t  ^-emplary 
ekrMJ:n         I""^  ^  ^'^'  ""^^  ^^^"^^  confessions  fZ 
eighteen  or  twenty  hours  daily;  but  the  Vener 
able  Vianney  was  an  exceptional  pastor  in  a  flood 

fessional.  and  which  is  more  imitable  by  toe  con^ 


!l 


228 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


fessors  of  our  day  than  is  his  practically  continu- 
ous wearing  of  the  violet  stole,  was  his  gentle- 
ness and  patience  with  his  penitents.  If  there  is 
one  place  in  the  church  wherein,  more  than  in 
any  other,  the  priest  should  show  himself  in  very 
deed  and  truth  "another  Christ,"— kind  and 
merciful  and  benignant  and  long-suffering — it  is 
assuredly  the  confessional.  There,  if  anywhere, 
he  should  appear  in  the  character  or  guise  (even 
if  it  has  to  be  assumed)  of  a  veritable  man  of 
God,  the  direct  and  specific  representative  of  God 
Himself.  Clothed  with  the  violet  stole,  the  pastor 
who  may  be,  by  nature,  of  an  irascible,  harsh,  un- 
sympathetic temperament,  is  bound  to  do  violence 
to  his  nature  and,  for  the  nonce  at  least,  manifest 
unvarying  amiability  and  patience.  It  is  gratify- 
ing to  know  that,  in  actual  practice,  such  curb- 
ing of  one's  natural  propensities  is  common. 
Many  a  pastor  has  the  reputation  of  being  rather 
forbidding  and  stern  in  all  other  circumstances, 
but  kind  and  gentle  to  his  penitents, — a  lion  in 
the  house  or  ofiBce,  a  lamb  in  the  confessional. 

Obviously  there  may  be  extremes  of  compla- 
cency, even  to  penitents;  firmness  as  well  as 
kindness  must  be  shown;  but  one  point  of  which 
the  confessor  should  never  lose  sight  is  that,  ultra- 
exceptional  cases  apart,  the  verj'  presence  of  the 
penitent  in  the  confessional  is  presumptive  evi- 
dence of  the  worthiness,  or  at  least  the  quasi- 
worthiness,  of  his  dispositions.  The  average  sinner 
who  kneels  at  the  feet  of  a  priest  is  in  very  truth 
a  bruised  reed,  and  the  priest  may  well  remember 
that  it  was  prophesied  of  Christ,  whose  place  he 


THE  VIOLET  STOLE 


229 


is  taking  and  whose  power  he  is  wielding-    "The 
bruised  reed  he  shall  not  break." 

Not  bruised  reeds,  however,  but  rather  up- 
right  and   sweet-scented   grass-blades    form    thn 
bulk  of  the  material  with  which  the  ordinary  con- 
fessor has  to  do,  especially  in  these  days  of  fre- 
quent a  Id  duily  Communion.    Confessions  of  de- 
voUon  rather  than  of  necessity  were  always  com- 
mon m  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  henceforth 
presumably  will  be  even  more  multiplied   than 
ever.    One  obvious  reflection  which  accordinclv 
presents  itself  is  that  the  words  of  instruction  or 
encouragement  given  to  the  individual  penitent 
in  these  devotional  confessions  should  be  brief 
much  briefer  as  a  rule  than  those  addressed  to 
the  penitent  who  has  accused  himself  of  grievous 
sms.    It  may  perhaps  be  imprudent  to  make  a 
pracUce  of  merely  giving  absolution  and  impos- 
mg  a  penance,  but  on  the  other  hand  there  is 
wisdom  m  this  counsel  of  a  writer  whom  we  have 
already  quoted:      "At  all  times  mere  common- 
places of  piety  are  useless.    Let  us  speak  by  all 
means  if  we  have  something  to  say.  but  not  mere- 
ly  to  say  something."  In  declaring  that  our  words 
on  such  occasions  should  be  briefer  than  to  peni- 
tents who  have  confessed  grievous  sins,  we  used 
above  the  qualifying  phrase  "as  a  rule."  for  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  some  purely  devo- 
tional  penitents  look  for.  and  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect, fuller  advice  or  instruction  or  admonition 

!h?M  "     "^u  °  **""  '^"''"°"  '""  o^  o"r  spiritual 
children     They  are  those  who  are  making  dis- 

tmct  and  energetic  eflForts  to  advance  in  the  way 


-II 


H 


3,; 


280 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


of  Christian  perfection  and  who  consequently 
seek  skilled  guidance  along  the  various  avenues 
of  the  interior  life. 

Properly  to  aid  such  souls  the  confessor  needs 
to  be  conversant  with  the  principles  of  ascetical 
theology  and  to  have  at  least  a  fair  working- 
knowledge  of  the  manner  in  which  those  princi- 
ples should  be  applied  to  concrete  cases.  And 
here  we  touch  again  on  the  competency  of  the 
priest  adequately  to  exercise  the  function  of  the 
violet  stole.  Is  the  average  reader  of  these  pages 
so  thoroughly  versed  in  ascetical  theology  that  it 
would  be  a  mere  waste  of  time  for  him  to  devote 
an  occasional  hour  or  two  to  a  review  of  its  prin- 
ciples? Possibly  he  in.  If  indeed  there  be  no 
exagg&:aMon  in  the  statement,  regarding  the  con- 
fessor'., iitness,  which  I  find  in  a  brochure  pub- 
lished four  or  five  years  ago,  our  "possibly"  may 
be  replaced  by  "probably."  Of  the  confessor  in 
general  the  brochure  says:  "He  spends  many 
years  in  preparation  for  his  priestly  office.  He 
studies  philosophy,  dogmatic,  scientific,  and  moral 
theology;  but,  above  and  beyond  all  this,  he 
studies  mystic  and  ascetical  theology,  which  evr ry 
confessor  must  know  according  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  his  penitents."  Let  us  trust  that  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  foregoing  sentence  is  literally  true 
of  present-day  theological  students,  and  that  those 
of  us  whose  knowledge  of  ascetics  has  been  ac- 
quired rather  incidentally  than  otherwise  may 
avow  ourselves  not  too  old  to  learn  and 
forthwith  set  about  attaining  quantum  sufficit  for 
the  intelligent  direction  of  souls  w^henever  we  don 
the  violet  stole. 


XIV 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 

-C?S/?XrJ.  '"*'■  ^  "•"  "^  «««''  "•"  y«»'"   «-»Jft.. 

.V- J^i^'U*  "y  J«y.  th»t  you  be  of  one  mind,  havins  the  iune 
«h«rity.   being   of  one   Mcord.   agreeing  i„   «e'ntiment.-P«Wp 

IN  more  than  one  respect  the  Dors  club  is  a 
t   somewhat  peculiar  association.    To  begin  wth 
membershp    therein    is    restricted    not    only    to 
pnests    but  to  such  priests  as  actually  are,  or 
formerly  have  been,  pastors  or  assistants  at  St. 
Joseph  s  Church  in  an  American  city  whose  name 
really  doesn't  matter,  although  readers  who  like 
definite    termmology   may   call   it.   if   they   will 
Anyopolis.     In  the  second  place,  the  association 
has  no  fixed  and  determined  club-house  or  club- 
rooms;  its  meetings  are  held  in  any  one  of  half 
a  dozen  dilTerent  rectories.     Its  favorite  habitat, 
to  be  sure,  is  Father  John  Regan's  smoking-room 
m  M.  Josephs  parish-house;  out  a  majority  vote 
of  the  members  at  one  meeting  may  decide  that 
the  next  one  shall  be  held  in  the  rectory  of  either 

PvpILi  ^'".l'  ^^*^'"  ^^"^  "«««"'  Consignor 
Eversley.  Father  Larry  Dempsey.  or  any  other 

member  resident  in  the  city.  There  are  no  initia- 
tion fees,  and  no  annual  or  monthly  dues;  there 
IS  no  written  constitution  and  no  fixed  by-law,  if 

231 


III 


232 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


i! 


we  except  a  custom  that  has  come  to  have  a 
quasi-legal  force:  any  member  may,  without  vio- 
lation of  "good  form,"  contribute  from  time  to 
time  to  the  common  stock  of  smoking  material 
a  box  of  his  favorite  brand  of  cigars  or  a  tin  of 
his    best-loved    mixture,— Craven.    Arcadia,    or 

other. 

As  for  the  name  of  the  Club,  invidious  out- 
siders have  been  known  to  suggest  that  Dors  is 
merely  an  inflection  of  the  French  verb  dormir, 
to  sleep,  and  add  that  it  is  peculiarly  significant 
of  the  Club's  principal  business.     Others  derive 
the  word  from  dorsal  or  dorse,  and  assert  that 
it  is  indicative  of  the  bacjcward  or  reactionary 
tendency   of   the   Club's  members.    Neither  ex- 
planation, 'tis  needless  to  say,  is  correct.    When 
the  charter  members  of  the  association  were  de- 
liberating as  to  the  specific  name  that  should  be 
given  to  it.  Father  Dempsey  had  urged  the  adop- 
tion of  as  comprehensive  a  designation  as  pos- 
sible, one  that  would  cover  all  topics  that  might 
come  up  for  discussion,— theological,  philosoph- 
ical,  literary,   scientific,   artistic,   political,  com- 
mercial, or  any  other  kind.    "In  that  case,"  com- 
mented Father  John,  "we  had  better  call  it  the 
De  Omni  Re  Scibili  Club;"  and  forthwith  the  title 
which  Pico  of  Mirandola  gave  to  one  of  his  multi- 
tudinous theses  became  the  accepted  cognomen 
of  the  associated  clerics  of  St.  Joseph's.    Being 
rather  cumbersome  for  common  use,  the  title  was 
speedily  reduced  to  the  "D.O.R.S.  Club,"  and  this 
in  turn  gave  way  to  the  present  simplified  form, 
the  Dors   Club.    Conformably  to  its  name,  the 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


233 


Club  considers  no  subject  foreign  to  its  delibera- 
tions; but  as  the  main  purpose  of  the  association 
is  recreaUve,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  in  ihe 
autumn  of  1914.  that  all  war-talk  should  be 
tat)ooed  at  its  meetings. 

These  useful  preliminary  notions  being  given, 
the  reader  is  invited  to  attend  a  session  of  the 
Uub  in  Father  John's  smoking-room,-or  part  of 
a  session,  rather,  as  conversation  has  been  going 
on  for  some  time  already  when  we  make  our  en- 
trance. The  direct  dialogue  form  is  adopted  as 
toeing  clearer  and  more  vivacious  than  the  indi- 
rect narrative  style. 

^''l^F?^'"'*':'  ^°  y°"  ''^^"y  **»»nk.  Father  Larry, 
that  the  slogan.  "See  America  first,"  may  well 
be  disregarded  by  priests  who  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  travel.  ^^ 

Fr.  Dempsey.  Most  decidedly  I  do.  The  great 
objecUve  point  of  young  priests  who  have  a 
vacaUon  a  month  or  two  long  should  be  Rome. 
Evei7  cleric  who  has  the  opportunity  to  do  so 
should  visit  the  Eternal  City  as  soon  after  his 
ordination  as  possible.  Several  weeks  spent 
there  will,  if  at  all  judiciously  employed,  teach 
him  more  things  about  the  Church-intangible, 
undefinable  things  that  you  simply  can't  cet 
out  of  books  or  through  oral  instruction,  than 
he  will  acquire  in  a  dozen  vacations  spent  in 

pZf''^  ii'°™  ^"^°*«  ***  ^^««^«'  or  from 
Portland,  Maine,  to  Portland,  Oregon 

L^ir^'n"*'-  '.  «™,^"i*«  of  your  opinion, 
Larry  Rome  is  really  the  home-citv  of  all 
^athoU  ,  and  a  priest's  first  visit  to  St.  Peter's 


234 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


and   the   Vatican   is  something  more   than   a 
mere  event,— it  is  a  veritable  epoch.     As  you 
say,  too,  one  imbibes  there  knowledge  unat- 
tainable   elsewhere.     The    atmosphere    of    the 
city  of  the  Popes  defies  analysis,  but  it  is  an 
atmosphere  that  is  both  singularly  fascinating 
and    wonderfully    illuminative.      One's    mind 
and    heart    receive    ineffaceable    impressions, 
and  ever  afterwards  the  inestimable  worth  of 
our    Christian    heritage,    the    matchless    sub- 
hmity  of  the  one  true  faitii,  the  magnificently 
triumphant  career  of  the  Church  throughout 
the  centuries,  and  sometiiing  of  the  significance 
of  Uie  role  played  by  Chrises  Vicars  in  Uie  de- 
velopment of  civilization,  appeal  to  one  wiUi  a 
force  and  a  vividness  practicaUy  unknown  to 
those  who  have  never  visited  the  Eternal  City. 
Fr.  Lavers.    Say,  Monsignor,  have  another  cigar. 
Was  that  spiel  quoted  from  an  old  lecture  or 
a   fortiicoming  book?    If   the   latter,  put   me 
down  for  a  copy;  'tis  good  stuff. 
Fr.  John.    Tommy,  boy,  close  your  irreverent  lips, 
and  have  some  respect  for  your  elders.     As 
one  of  them,  let  me  add  my  advice  to  all  you 
younger   men    who    as    yet    are    strangers    to 
Rome :  get  there  as  soon  as  you  can. 
Fr.  Galligan.    Like  a  whole  lot  of  advice,  Father 
John,  that  counsel  is  a  good  deal  easier  for  you 
pastors  to  give  than  for  us  assistants  to  follow. 
Unless  there  is  a  notable— and  altogether  un- 
expected—rise in  my  salary,  I  fail  to  see  how 
It  will  be  practicable  for  me  to  make  a  trip  to 
Rome  for  a  dozen  years  to  come. 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


235 


a^Zt  ^-  7'"'  ^  ^'"*  ^"  °^y  ^°"'*  year  as 
assistant;  and  our  salaries  twenty  years  ago 
were  even  less  than  you  fellows  get  to-day 

todar'**'    ^"*  *^^''^''  ""^  ^'*^^'*  ''''*  ^"^  ^^"^^"^ 
Fr.Dempsey.    Which    is    nullified    by   your   in- 
creased salaries;  and  there's  the  cost  of  higher 
hvmg  which  it  is  quite  within  your  compScy 
to  cut  down  very  considerably. 
Dean  O'Reilly.    Even  so,  Father  Dempsey.  it  a^- 
pea«  to  me  that  you  must  have  been  phe- 
nomenally    economical    to    save,    in    three    or 
four  years  as  assistant,  enough  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  a  European  trip.    May  I  ask  how 
you  managed  it?  ''J      «»«^  now 

\^^"^P'ey     Quite  simply,  and  without  depriv- 

iolJ"^''  ^rS^  f°y  °^  ^'^^'^  essentials,  or  even 
comfor..  To  begin  with,  instead  of  invesJng 
half  or  quarter  of  my  salary  in  a  private  H 

sS^cTThi^dM,"^"^  r°'*  ^^^^  «*"^"^- 

since  I  had  the  ran  of  good  old  Father  Mc- 
Govera-^God  rest  his  charitable  soullll  de- 
posited every  quarter  at  least  some  amount 
in  a  Savings  Bank.  Instead  of  paying  five  or 
.  SIX  dollar  a  pair  for  the  latest  fting  fn  shoe" 
I  paid  only  two  or  three  for  foot-gear  norDer- 
haps  so  styUsh  but  quite  decent,  fully  as  com- 
fortable,   and   considerably    more   se'^iceab" 

A^for In.ol,-''"  "■;<•.  «'°^«-  'hirts  and  sock l' 
As  for  smokmg,  a  briar  pipe  and  ordinary  to- 
bacco formed  the  rule;  cigars  were  th7et 
cepUon.  and  when  I  did  buy  a  box,  they  were 
of  the  nickel  variety,  not  the  ten-cMt  braTd? 


1    If' 

■■•    1 1 

i     i 


236 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


•>'!i 


t  .1 


These    and    the    like    economies, — ^saving   car- 
fare, for  instance,  by  habitual  walking,  mount 
up  more  rapidly  than  you  may  imagine.    In 
any  case,  in  three  years  and  a  half  my  Bank 
account  was  amply  large  enough  to  allow  me 
a  two  months'  sojourn  in  Europe,— and  I  didn't 
go  across  in  the  steerage,  either. 
Fr.  Lavers.    Bully  for  you.  Father  Larry!    Here's 
a  lad  who  is  going  to  do  likewise.    Dean,  if  you 
are  still  fortunate  enough  to  have  me  as  one 
of  your  assistants  three  years  from  now,  will 
you  kindly  make  a  note  of  it  that  I  expect  two 
months  oflF  in  June,  1923,  for  a  trip  to  Rome? 
Dean  O'Reilly.    If  the  Bishop  hasn't  compassion 
on  me  before  that  date.  Father  Tom,  I'll  wel- 
come  the  opportunity   to   send   you   oh  your 
travels,  never  fear. 
Fr.  O'Connor.    You  had  an  audience  with  Leo 
XIII.  on  the  occasion  of  that  first  visit  of  yours, 
hadn't  you.  Father  Larry? 
Fr.  Dempsey.    Yes;  but  that's  an  old  story  and  a 
long  one,  too.    I'm  not  going  to  monopolize  the 
conversation  this  evening. 
Fr.  Lavers.    That  reminds  me  of  a  saying  of  Dean 
Swift's  that  I  saw  quoted  the  other  day.    Apro- 
pos of  conversation,  he  said:     'Take  as  many 
half  minutes  as  you  can  get,  but  never  talk 
more  than  half  a  minute  without  pausing  and 
giving  others  an  opportunity  to  strike  in." 
Fr.  John.    Very  good,  Tommy,  and,  as  your  half 
minute  is  up,  allow  me  to  strike  in  by  asking 
Father  Dempsey  what  language  he  spoke  in 
conversing  with  the  Holy  Father. 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


237 


Fr  Dempsey.  I  feU  back  on  my  French,  such  of 
It  as  I  had  picked  up  during  my  seminary  days 
in  Montreal.  Twas  a  good  thing  I  did.  too;  for 
Uie  experience  of  two  young  pastors  from 
Pittsburg  who  had  just  preceded  me  at  the  feet 
of  the  Pope  showed  pretty  clearly  that  Amer- 
icanized Latin  was  practically  unintelligible 
at  the  Vatican. 

Mgr.  Eversley.  I  had  just  the  same  experience; 
and  ever  since,  I  have  been  a  firm  advocate  of 
the  teaching  of  the  Italian  pronunciation  of 
Latin  m  our  seminaries. 

Dean  O'Reilly.  But  hasn't  it  h-en  proved  that  the 
really  correct  pronunciation  of  that  language 
18  the  "old  Roman,"  with  the  hard  g's  and  c's,- 
Prokedamus  in  pake,  Sancta  Kikilia,  etc  ? 

Mgr.  Eversley,  As  for  the  historical,  gram- 
mabcal,  or  logical  correctness  of  the  pronun- 
ciation. I  don't  profess  any  competency  to 
judge;  but  as  for  the  expediency  of  teaching 
our  young  clerics  the  only  pronunciation  like- 
ly to  be  of  use  to  them  if  they  are  ever  called 
upon  to  speak  Latin  at  all,  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  case  for  the  Italian  method  is  self-evident. 
JT^"""'  Your  view  is  coincided  in  by  some 
Mn  M   ^^^^*''  ?{^^'  *^°"°*^  «°d  Canada, 

m«d!^?hTT  ^  ^^""^  ^'^'■^  *«*  '^^'^^^  have 
made  the  Itahan  pronunciation  compulsory  in 
their  seminaries.  ^ 

^'J^aZ'  ^f"«^^°«  °^  boots-yoaV/  under- 
stand the  allusion,  Dempsey-have  any  of  you 
chaps  heard  of  the  good  joke  played  on  our 
new  Monsignor,  Charlie  Bradley. 


238 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


11 


''J 


•■:          f    ' 

1^ 

1 

i 

Ik. 

Fr.  John.    I  haven't,  for  one;  what  is  it? 

Fr.  Hogan.  Well,  the  morning  the  papers  pub- 
lished the  news  of  the  distinction  that  had 
come  to  Bradley,  his  friend  Father  Kevin, 
President  of  St.  Isidore's,  sent  him  a  wire. 
Kevin  wrote  the  message:  "Cordial  congratu- 
lations. You  adorn  the  purple,"  and  the  in- 
spired Western  Union  operator  sent  it:  "Cor- 
dial congratulations.  You  adore  the  purple.** 
Not  bad,  eh? 

Fr.  McGarrigle.  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  any  of 
you  reverend  gentlemen  that,  if  Rome  keeps 
up  the  present  rate  of  multiplying  Monsignors, 
a  black  cassock  will  be  a  parity  in  the  course 
of  tv.ro  or  three  decades?  It  isn't  considered 
good  form  nowadays,  apparently,  for  an  ordi- 
nary to  visit  the  Holy  See  without  recommend- 
ing three  or  four  of  his  pastors  for  the  purple. 

Fr.  havers.  That's  right,  George.  It  looks  as 
though  it  will  soon  be  in  order  to  say  of  U.S. 
piiests  and  the  Monsignorship  what  Mark 
Twain  said  of  Frenchmen  and  the  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor:  "Very  few  of  them  escape 
it." 

Fr.  John.  Well,  neither  of  you  two  need  enter- 
tain any  serious  fear  of  being  obliged  to  change 
your  cassock's  color.  Given  that  our  Bishop 
retains  his  normal  good  sense,  both  of  you  may 
consider  yourselves  immune. 

Dean  O'Reilly..  Seriously  though,  Father  John; 
don't  you  think  that  the  purple  is  becoming 
so  common  that  a  good  deal  of  the  prestige 
once  attached  to  it  is  vanishing?    It  certainly 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  .CLUB 


239 


doesn  t  mean  to  me  nowadays  as  much  as  it 
did  fifteen  years  ago  when  our  friend  Eversley 
here  was  invested  with  it. 
Fr.  John.    Seriously,  then,  I  don't  think  it  has  be- 
come a  bit  too  common.     I  have  heard  some 
disgruntled  clerics  make  the  statement  that  not 
one  in  twelve  of  the  recent  recipients  of  the 
honor    possesses    any    genuine    disUnction    of 
character  or  conduct  to  justify  his  being  set 
aside  and  above  his  brother  priests;  but  I  can- 
didly doubt  whether  there  be  one  in  twelve  of 
them  who  lacks  such  distinction.    As  for  the 
men   who   tell   you— of  course   I   don't  count 
you  among  them,   O'ReiUy-that,  since   every 
clerical  Tom.  Dick,  and  Harry  is  becoming  a 
Monsignor.   tiiey   wouldn't  accept   tiie   titie  if 
proffered    them,    I    question    whether   one   in 
a  hundred  is  really  sincere.     In  any  case  the 
most  of  them  would  jump  at  the  chance  to 
accept  tiie  purple,  and  I  think  I  know  one  or 
two  whose  delight  in  Uie  honor  would  be  so 
unfeigned  that  they'd  not  only  wear  the  pur- 
ple   cassock    by    day,    but  would    don    purple 
pajamas  at  night. 
Fr.  Hogan.    A  spectacle  for  men  and  angels,  that: 

outdoing  the  show  of  Father  Laurier. 
Fr.  Dempsey.  What  was  Uiat,  Tim?  I  don't  re- 
member hearing  about  it. 
Fr.  Hogan.  Just  an  announcement  that  a  French 
pnest,  doing  duty  in  an  English  parish,  made 
one  Sunday  at  high  Mass.  It  was  about  a  Holy 
Name  parade  in  which  he  himself  was  to  take 
part.    He  urged  all  the  members  of  Uie  Society 


% 


240 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


.  J 

t  '.I 


to  be  present;  and,  waxing  eloquent  as  he  pro- 
ceeded, exclaimed:  "Yes,  my  friends,  we  will 
make  one  grand  show,  one  magnificent  show; 
we  will  make  one  holy  show  of  ourselves." 

Fr.  Lavers.  It  must  have  been  Fat  er  Laurier 
who  as  a  boy  in  college,  in  replj  to  a  class- 
mate's threat  that  he'd  knock  his  block  oflf,  pas- 
sionately declared:  "You  can't  do  it;  that'g 
what  you  are !" 

Fr.  Hogan.  Well!  well!  Talk  about  the  associa- 
tion of  ideas  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  fac- 
ulty we  call  memory:  do  you  know,  that  in- 
stance of  broken  English  has  dragged  up  from 
the  bottom  of  the  well  of  my  memory,  or  "for- 
gettery,"  an  incident  I  haVen't  thought  of  con- 
sciously for  twenty-five  years.  As  you  all 
know,  I  attended  a  Canadian  college  whose 
Superior's  command  of  English  wasn't  exactly 
perfect.  The  choicest  specimen  of  it  that  ever 
amused  me  in  those  days  was  his  remark  to 
Dan  McCabe  at  a  Christmas  midnight  Mass. 
Dan  was  a  big  awkward  omadhaun  of  a  fellow 
in  Minor  Orders,  who  was  serving  as  Sub- 
deacon.  I  was  master  of  ceremonies,  and  dur- 
ing the  Canon  was  congratulating  myself  that 
McCabe  hadn't  made  any  bad  breaks  as  yet, 
when  all  at  once  my  bold  Dan  (who  was  in 
his  proper  position,  in  piano),  took  it  into  his 
head  that  he  ought  to  be  alongside  the  cele- 
brant, the  Superior;  so  up  he  marched,  paten 
and  all.  The  celebrant  just  glanced  at  him 
sideways,  and  then  said  in  a  demi-tone  quite 
audible  to  all  in  the  sanctuary:     "What  you 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


241 


want?     Go    down    stair."     I    had    to    take    a 
strangle  hold  on  my  risibiliUes  to  keep  from 
laughing  outright. 
Mgr.  Everstey.    I  remember  a  case  in  which  even 
a  strangle  hold  could  not  restrain  a  laugh  in 
church.    At  St.  Michael's  college  in  my   Ume 
we  carried  out  all  the  ceremonies  of  Holy  Sat- 
urday.   The  chanting  of  the  Prophecies  by  the 
members  of  the  staff,  including  seminarians  or 
ecclesiastics,"  was  always  safe  to  provide  a 
respite  from  the  monotony  of  the  long  service; 
and  on  one  occasion  came  near  getting  one  of 
my    chums,    Frank    Laferty,    into    a    serious 
scrape.     The    third   Prophecy   had   just   been 
splendidly  chanted  by  Mr.  Lafond,  a  slim  lit- 
tle fellow  not  more  than  five  feet  two  in  height, 
but  with  a  fine,  powerful  bass  voice  that  might 
have    congruously    come    from    a    giant.    The 
next  chanter  was  a  Mr.  MeUott,  six  feet  three 
m  his  vamps,  and  proportionately  bulky.    His 
ordinary  speaking  voice  was  of  the  thinnest, 
and   his  tone  in   chanting  proved   to   be   the 
merest   squeak,    like    the    cry    of    a    captured 
mouse,  or  tfie  sound  of  escaping  gas.    Accord- 
ingly, his  In  diehus  illis  was  greeted  with  a 
broad  smile  from  Uie  students  generally,  and 
Laferty  simply  exploded  in  a  veritable  guffaw 
Fr.  GalUgan.    Say,  FaUier  John,  before  this  tide 
of  reminiscences  becomes  irresistible,  I'd  like 
you  to  advise  me  on  a  point  about  which  I've 
been  thinking  a  good  deal  of  late.    I  have  re- 
centiy  been  reading  about  the  advantages  at- 
tached to  having  a  hobby;  and  I'd  like  to  have 
If 


14 


9 


242 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


,.f- 


your  opinion  concerning  a  good  one  to  choose. 

Fr.  John.  Father  Charlie,  my  son,  if  I  were  as 
young  as  you,  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment 
about  making  my  choice;  my  hobby  would  be 
writing.  I'd  write  all  my  sermons  to  begin 
with;  and  then  I'd  try  sketches,  essays,  ser- 
monettes,  stories,  and  what  not  for  the  dioce- 
san paper.  If  they  were  accepted  by  the  editor 
of  that  journal,  I  should  offer  something  to 
more  ambitious  periodicals,  such  as  our  Cath- 
olic family  magazines;  and  in  case  I  made 
good  with  them,  I  should  be  emboldened  to 
proffer  an  article  once  in  a  while  to  the  ec- 
clesiastical monthlies.  If  I  had  the  knack  of 
rhyming,  I  should  folloyr  Silas  Wegg's  plan 
and  drop  into  poetry  occasionally,  if  only  to 
increase  my  vocabulary.  Yes;  let  me  advise 
you  to  take  up  writing.  Even  if  you  have  no 
particular  taste  for  it,  and  have  no  style  to 
speak  of,  still  "go  to  it"  One  learns  to  write 
by  writing;  and  a  priest  need  look  for  no  bet- 
ter hobby  on  which  to  spend  his  hours  of 
leisure. 

Fr.  Dempgey.  Well  said.  Father  John.  I've  often 
envied  the  fellows  who  could  wield  a  facile  and 
a  graceful  pen.  Just  think  of  the  consolation 
one  could  draw  from  the  thought  that,  even 
when  the  body  has  fallen  into  "the  sere  and 
yellow  leaf,"  when  a  man  is  physically  in- 
capable of  general  pastoral  work,  he  can  still 
profitably  pass  his  time  in  writing  for  others 
from  the  garnered  stores  of  his  long  and  va- 
ried experience. 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


243 


Dean  O'ReiUy.  Do  you  know,  I've  often  thought 
that  an  ideal  life  for  an  old  priest,  one  who  has 
reached,  let  us  say,  his  three  score  years  and 
twenty,  would  be,  supposing  him  a  writer,  a 
chaplaincy  in  some  small  convent.  With  only 
a  minimum  of  clerical  work  to  vary  the  monot- 
ony of  life,  what  an  amount  of  leisure  he  would 
have  to  devote  to  literary  labors!  Our  old 
pastor  is  right.  Father  CharUe;  you  can't  do 
better  than  make  a  hobby  of  writing. 

Fr.  Lauers.  If  you  genttemen  will  permit  me  to 
interject  a  purely  frivolous  question  into  your 
grave  discourse,  I  should  like  to  know  which 
misguided  member  of  the  Club  is  responsible 
for  the  introduction  here  of  this  cylindrical  bit 
of  disguised  alfalfa  and  mildewed  mucilage 
that  I've  been  trying  to  smoke  for  the  past  ten 
minutes.  I  see  the  legend  on  the  box  from 
which  I  took  it  reads  "RadeUa."  Who  may  its 
sponsor  be? 
Fr.  Hogan.  Poor  Lavers!  You  have  so  vitiated 
your  taste  with  those  Wiltville  stogies  you  are 
accustomed  to,  that  you  can  no  longer  recog- 
nize a  good  cigar  when  yo.i  get  one.  The 
RadeUa  is  distinctly  all  right  Ask  McGarrigle 
if  it  isn't.  He  has  embaliried  its  virtues  in 
song. 

Fr.  Lavers.  He  has,  eh?  WeU,  this  one  tastes  as 
though  somebody  had  embahned  it  in  lim- 
burger  cheese.  However,  Mac,  let's  have  the 
song. 

Fr.  McGarrigle.  Father  Tim  used  "song"  in  the 
generic  sense.      My   tribute   was   a    limerick. 


i 


t^' 


344 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


t 


Here  it  is: 

A  cigar  is  nuieh  like  an  umbrella : 

Till  you  try  it,  you  can't  always  tell  a 

Ck>od  from  a  bad; 

But  the  best  to  be  bad 
For  its  price  is,  dead  sure,  the  Radella. 

Fr.  Lavera.  1  see.  "For  its  price."  What  i<  its 
price,  Father  Tim?   A  dollar  a  thousand? 

Fr.  John.  Have  done  with  your  nonsense, 
Tcmmy.  The  cigar  is  a  fine  one:  I  tested  it, 
myself.  To  get  back  to  writing,— tell  us,  Mon- 
signor,  you  who  are  an  author,  yourself,  what 
you  consider  the  prime  requisites  for  the 
formation  of  a  good  style. 

Mgr.  Evertley.  An  exhaus^ve  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish grammar,  a  prolonged  drilling  in  the  con- 
struction of  English  sentences,  and  a  wide  and 
studious  reading  of  the  classic  English  authors. 

Fr.  Dempsey.  Grammar!  Surely  every  man  who 
has  gone  thro;  ^  a  college  and  a  seminary 
knows  his  grammar. 

Mgr.  Evertley.  Possibly  he  does;  bu'  -i  that  case 
he  occasionally  fails  to  apply  his  lowledge  in 
his  speaking  and  writing.  He  .plits  his  in- 
finitives, mixes  up  his  pronouns,  misplaces  his 
qualifying  words,  uses  "and  which"  to  connect 
one  clause  witii  a  former  one  that  is  minus 
any  "which,"  and  commits  many  another 
verbal  crime  Jiat  jars  on  the  cultural  ear. 

Dean  O'Reilly.  Right  you  are,  Monsignor.  There 
are  ore  violations  of  grammar  in  the  average 
sermon  Uian  is  at  all  creditable  to  our  clotii. 
Not  very  gross  vioL-^tions,  perhaps,  but  sole- 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


245 


duns  and  improprieties  altogether  out  of  place 
in  the  speech  of  an  educated  man. 

ik^^'^k""*!'"-  Oh.  I  don't  know.  It  strikes  me 
that  there  s  not  a  little  exaggeraUon  in  all  this 
kowtowing  to  the  arbitrary  rules  of  gram- 
marians. Provided  there's  no  possible  mistak- 
ing a  man's  meaning,  the  main  purpose  of  lan- 
guage IS  served,  and  whether  or  not  the  hun- 
dred and  one  requirements  of  grammar  are  ob- 
served is.  or  ought  to  be.  a  negligible  consider- 
ation. 

Mgr  Evenley.  Absurd,  my  dear  fellow!    You're 
talkmg  nonsense.     If  you  make  clearness,  or 
perfect  lucidity,   the  sole  requisite  of  speech 
you  authorize  such  utterly  barbarous  English 
as.    Them    there    cigars    is    certainly    fine." 
Iheres  no  possible  mistaking  the  meaning  of 
that  sentence;  yet  I  presume  you'd  hardly  jus- 
tify  Ks  use  m  the  mouth  of  a  genUeman. 
Pr-ffogan-    Nor  would  O'Connor,  in  all  proba- 
T  S^«  *"*  imprimatur  to  the  locution  of 
good  old  Father  Mercier  who.  finding  the  can- 
dles unlit  just  as  he  was  going  to  begin  Mass. 
hunted  through  aU  his  pockets  and  then  turned 
to  his  congregation  with  the  thoroughly  lucid 
inquiry:    "Nobody  don't  got  some  match?" 
tr.  O  Connor.    Oh.  of  course  you  fellows  have  to 

go  to  extremes. 
Mgr.  Eversley.  Not  at  all.  my  dear  Father.  Tis 
your  own  principle  that  is  extreme.  More- 
over, there's  a  fallacy  in  your  phrase,  "the 
arbitrary  rules  of  gammarians."  Those  rules 
are  not  the  dictates  of  any  one  man  or  body 
of  men;  they  are  njerely  condensed  statements 


i 


846 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


*    ;.. 


f 

> 

■: 

of  the  mage  of  educated,  reputable  speakers 
and  writers.  The  rules  were  deduced  from  the 
usage,  not  the  usage  from  the  rules. 

Fr.  Galligan.  But,  say.  What  about  this  split  in- 
finitive business?  Why  isn't  it  just  as  correct 
to  say,  *To  thoroughly  understand  the  ques- 
tion** as  to  say  *Thorc-^hly  to  understand  the 
question?"  The  latter  form  sounds  to  me  much 
stiffer,  rather  Mffected,  in  fact. 

Fr.  John.  In  tlml  case,  you  had  better  say,  *To 
understpud  the  question  thoroughly."  The 
only  reason  why  your  first  form  isn't  correct 
is  that  good  usage  condemns  it,  just  as  in 
another  sphere  it  condepins  blowing  your  nose 
with  your  fingers  instead  of  with  your  hand- 
kerchief. 

Fr.  Lauert.  Whai  will  you  bet  me.  Father  John, 
that  I  can't  find  the  split  infinitive  in  Newman? 

Fr.  John.  Nothing  doing,  Tommy.  I  wouldn't 
bet,  even,  that  Newman  never  used  his  fingers 
instead  of  his  handkerchief,  in  a  sudden  emer- 
gency. But  your  question  is  an  instance  of 
another  fallacy  in  the  matter  of  good  English. 
The  fact  that  some  construction,  generally  con- 
demned, may  be  found,  perhaps  once  or  twice, 
in  Newman  or  Macaulay  or  Burke  or  Ruskin 
is  no  proof  that  the  author  in  question  consid- 
ered the  construction  good;  it  shows  merely 
that  "Homer  sometimes  nods."  If  you  can 
show  me  that  Newman  habitually,  or  even 
quasi-habitually,  uses  the  split  infinitive,  then 
indeed  you  will  have  made  your  point.  Iso- 
lated cases  have  no  argumentative  value:  par- 
um  pro  nihilo  reputatur. 


AT  THE  CLERICAL  CLUB 


M7 


Fr.  McGarrigte.    Tis  a  good  thing  Father  Ruddy 
Isn  t  here.    If  he  were,  we'd  have  nothing  but 
grammar  for  the  rest  of  the  session.     By  the 
way,  how  is  he?   Has  any  one  heard? 
Dean  OReilly.    Very  poorly,  I  understand.     Hie 
Chicago  specialist  says  he  has  Bright's  disease 
in  a  fairly  advanced  stagp,  and  'tis  doubtful 
whether   hr     will    live    another   year.      Poor 
Ruddy!  God  is  ceHainly  trying  him. 
?r-  ^^^''fl'y-    Why  throw  the  responsibility  on 
God?    Granted  that  Ruddy  is  a  delightful  fel- 
low whom   we   all  like   and   with   whom   we 
naturally  sympathLe,  there's  no  blinking  tlit- 
fact   that  his  illness  i»  simply   the  inevitable 
elfect  of  causes  for  which  he  himself  i.s  sole- 
ly  responsible.    How  often  during  the  past  :<  n 
yeara  have  we  not  told  him  that  his  manner 
Of  life  would  surely  shorten   his   dajw*     m» 
physician  warned  him  long  ago  that  be  could 
not  with  impunity  continue  to  eat  three  heartv 
meals  a  day  and  neglect  to  take  a  fair  amount 
of  physical  exercise;  yet  Harry  kept  on  saUs- 
fymg  his  appetite  to  the  full  whilr  remaining 
almost  as  inactive  as  if  he  were  atflictod  with 
paralysis    or    locomotor    ataxia.      Hi.     present 
condition  is  surely  not  so  much  a    r  al  from 
God  as  the  unfailing  punishment  thai  follows 
violation   of   the   laws   of   health.      This   may 
sound  rather  harsh  and  unfeeling,  but  I  don't 
mean  it  to  be  so.   I  like  Father  Ruddy  very 
much  and  he  has  all  my  sympathy;   but  we 
priests  are  perhaps  a  litUe  too  fond  of  blam- 
ing on  God  all  sorts  of  trials  fitat  are  really 


248 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


only  the  perfectly  natural  results  of  our  own 
imprudence.  But  there:  I  didn't  intend  to 
preach.  Father  Lavers,  I  guess  I  have  ex- 
ceeded my  half  minute.  Hadn't  you  better 
break  in? 
Fr.  John.  We  had  better  be  thinking  of  break- 
ing up.  Do  you  see  what  time  it  is?  I  haven't 
changed  my  retiring  hour  since  you  boys  grad- 
uated from  St.  Joseph's;  so  Fm  going  to  pack 
the  whole  crowd  of  you  oflf  without  further 
ceremony.  Tommy,  help  yourself  to  the 
Radellas;  and  good-night,  all. 


! ' 

r 

BHti 

-^1 


XV 

THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 

«n'S"(^S.i,^.t//,!  ^  y«  'o"'*-"-  of  me  «  I  al«. 

fAJS?"*^'*!.'**^**™^'  >»  "^"o  predeetined   to  bo  made  con- 
formable to  the  image  of  hU  Son.— iom.  viii.  i9. 

i^v^^v*  ^°  J»^  *ad  power-friend,  'tis  meet 
ihat  thou  the  fair  resemblance  shouldst  complete. 
Be  ttine  His  patient  pity,  love,  and  zeal; 
ae  thine  the  wounds  of  aching  hearts  to  heal- 
Be  thine  to  foUow  whither  lost  sheep  roam. 
And  bear  them  kindly  on  thy  shoulders  home: 
Be  thme  the  Mwter's  Cross  with  love  to  bear, 
And  thine  in  endless  life  His  Crown  to  wearl 

—From  "Between  WhUee." 

I T  is  a  rather  curious  anomaly  that  the  proverb, 
1   "practice  makes  perfect,'*  which  we  find  so 
generally  verified  in  the  various  arts  of  life  should 
apparentiy  altogether  fail  of  application  in  the 
supreme  art  of  living.    Preliminary  instruction, 
drill,  and  training,  foUowed  by  years  spent  in  the 
continuous  exercise  of  any  ordinary  profession, 
busmess,  or  handicraft  almost  invariably  produce 
both  increased  facility  in  doing  one's  work  and 
notable  skiU  in  doing  it  well.    If  an  elderly  law- 
yer or  physician  or  artist  or  banker  or  writer  or 
carpenter  or  shoemaker  achieves  results  that  im- 
press us  as  exceptionally  good,  a  not  unusual  ccm- 
ment  is:    "SmaU  blame  to  him;  he's  been  at  it  all 
his  lifel**    On  the  oUier  hand,  tiie  youUi  and  in- 
experience of  a  tyro  in  a  profession,  business,  or 
trade  we  accept  as  a  valid  excuse  for  partial  fail- 

249 


? 


I 

f  5i    f 

iiil:'  f^ 

^ 

r.     .. 

I 

^SJ^..• 

*' 

1^^ 


250 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


ure  in  achievement.  In  the  case  of  life  itself,  how- 
ever, and  more  specifically  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
tenor,  spiritual  life,  a  good  many  of  us  adopt  a 
diametrically  opposite  standard  of  criticism.  In 
the  matter  of  piety,  fervor,  devotedness  to  duty, 
and  exact  performance  of  religious  exercises,  we 
often  talk  as  if  it  were  quite  natural  and  alto- 
gether reasonable  ttiat  the  youngest  should  be  the 
best,— as  if  indeed  the  oldtime  proverb  needed 
revision  and  should  run,  "pracUce  makes  im- 
perfect" 

Who  has  not  heard  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  of 
a  youthful  cleric  ridicule^  and  scoflfed  at  by  an 
elderly  brother  priest  ?-«Yes,  yes,  my  dear  fel- 
low; you  are  fresh  from  the  seminary  and  all 
these  lofty  aims  and  grand  ideals  are  doubUess 
very  fine;  but  you'll  soon  discover  that  in  the 
actual  wear  and  tear  of  daily  life  they  will  prove 
quite  too  visionary  and  quite  impracticable.    Tis 
all  very  well  to  gaze  on  the  mountain-tops,  or  to 
hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star;  but  before  long  you  will 
learn  that  after  aU  you  have  to  keep  your  feet  on 
the  ground,  and  your  daydreams  will  dissolve  in 
the  prosaic  atmosphere  of  hard  work."    In  much 
the  same  spirit  an  elderly  religious  has  been  heard 
to  say:    "When  Brother  Blank  came  out  of  the 
novitiate  two  or  tiiree  years  ago,  he  was  scandal- 
ized by  the  least  infraction  of  silence  or  any  want 
of  punctuality  in  attending  spiritual  exercises;  but 
nr  w  he's  just  as  bad  as  tiie  rest  of  us."    The  pity 
or  it  is  ttiat  such  remarks  are  made  with  an  air 
of  superior  wisdom  as  if  they  were  merely  tiie 
expression  of  undeniable  truths  taught  by  experi- 


THE  PR-TEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


251 


s*^:  r;r  ^vr  rx'  ^:^ 

evp?«H  *!°"^"^i«  **•"«  e'lough  that  one  seldom  if 
ever  attains  to  the  ideals  of  one's  youth,  and  ttiat 
t  IS  characteristic  of  human  nature,  in  priest^  «* 
in  othew.  to  be  inclined  to  lower  one's  pristine 
standard    especially  if  a  was  set  at  a  notaBk 
height;  but  to  maintain  that  one  cannot  even  an 
pro^mate  Uie  ideals  cnce  cherished,  or  that  one 
must,  willy-nilly,  forsuke  the  heights  of  fervor  ^ 
descend  to  the  dead-level  of  perfLtor  n^7or  to 
tiie  depths  of  tepidity.-this  is  palpably  absurd     I 
cannot  logically  contend  that  becLse  in  my  own 
case,  and  possibly  in  that  of  some  of  myTrienls 
former  zeal  and  pkty  have  been  replaced  by  ^resl 
ent  negligence  and  lukewarmness.  therefore  such 
replacement  is  the  invariable  experience  of  all 

rttiir  ?^°'^  "'^^"-  ^^P^-'^'y  *«  state  or  ndt 
rectiy  to  imply,  that  thorough  attention  to  the  most 
strenuous  activities  of  the  pastoral  ministry  S  a 
all  mcompatible  with  a  genuinely  full  and  dTep  in- 
tenor  life.  IS  not  only  to  give  Uie  lie  to  the  records 
of  innumerable  saints,  but  is  to  accuse  tiie Toty 
Ghost  of  demai^aing  impossibilities.  ^ 

Ihere  can  be  no  possible  doubt  that  God  does 
demand  sanctity  or  holiness  of  His  nriests  Th! 
r^*  ^-r^  examination  of  Hofy  Vrit  ^hetler 
^e  Old  Testament  or  the  New.  sWs  to  ^ke 
this  fact  superabundp"**"   -»-—     '"         -  "laxe 


,    -  ^       -r ^^^auuj    Clear,     "i    u  shall  h*» 

holy  nnto  me,  because  I  the  Lord  am  holy   anJ 
have  separated  you  Irom  aU  other  pei^t  ftal 


252 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


you  should  be  mine."    Lev.  xx,  26.    *They  shaU 
be  holy  to  their  God,  and  shall  not  profane  His 
name:    for  they  offer  the  burnt  offering  of  the 
Lord  and  the  bread  of  their  God,  and  therefore 
they  shall  be  holy.**    Lev.  xxi,  6.    "For  every  high 
priest  taken  from  among  men  is  ordained  for  men 
in  the  things  that  appertain  to  God,  that  he  may 
offer   up   gifts    and    sacrifices   for  sins.    .    .     . 
Neither  doth  any  man  take  the  honor  to  himself, 
but  he  that  is  called  b>  God,  as  Aaron  was.**    Heb. 
V,  1,  4.    "Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  as  also  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect**    Matt,  v,  A8.    "You 
have  not  chosen  me:  but  J  have  chosen  you;  and 
have  appointed  you,   that  you   should  go,   and 
bring  forth  fruit;  and  your  fruit  should  remain.** 
John,  XV,  16.    "You  call  me  master  and  Lord,  and 
ye  say  well,  for  so  I  am.    If  then  I,  being  your 
Lord  and  master,  have  washed  your  feet,  you 
also  ought  to  wash  one  another*s  feet;  for  I  have 
given  you  an  example,  that  as  I  have  done  to 
you,  so  you  do  also.'*    John,  xiii,  12.    Similar  pas- 
sages  might   be   multiplied   almost   indefinitely, 
and  the  burden  of  them  all  is  that  it  is  incumbent 
upon  the  priest,  over  and  above  all  other  men,  to 
walk  circumspectly  in  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to 
practice  perfection,   to  live  holily,-~in  brief,   to 
be  a  faithful  imitator  of  the  sacerdotal  Exemplar, 
Christ  Jesus  Our  Lord. 

All  this,  presumably,  is  trite  to  the  ordinary 
pastor  of  souls.  He  has  very  often  preached  sim- 
ilar, not  to  say  identical,  doctrine  to  his  people,  in- 
structing them  that  in  order  to  reach  heaven  each 
of  them  must,  in  at  least  some  measure  and  de- 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


253 


"ImitaUon  of  Christ"  and 
are    in     fact    among     the 


gree,  follow  Christ 
**foUowing    Christ" 

most  commonplace  phrases  in  the  Christian 
preacher's  vocabulary,— which  is  quite  a  differ- 
ent thing,  it  is  needless  to  say,  from  exemplifying 
the  meaning  of  the  phrases  in  the  multitudinous 
thoughts  and  words  and  actions  of  ordinary  life. 
It  is  possible  indeed  that  even  a  priest  may  reach 
a  point  where  these  expressions  are  mere  empty 
words,  philosophical  abstractions  to  which  neither 
in  his  habitual  thought  nor  in  his  daily  activities 
are  there  any  corresponding  concrete  realities. 
Without  going  to  that  extreme,  it  is  still  more 
possible  for  a  cleric  to  look  upon  our  great  Ex- 
emplar as  a  model  utterly  beyond  imitation,  at 
least  by  himself,  and  to  forego  any  really  serious 
efforts  to  conform  his  life  to  that  of  Our  Lord. 
Now,  such  an  attitude  is  condemnable  in  a 
spiritual  man,  just  as  a  similar  frame  of  mind  is 
condemnable  in  an  ordinary  man  of  the  world. 
"Aim  at  perfection  in  everything,"  says  Chester- 
field, "even  though  in  most  things  it  is  unattain- 
able. However,  they  who  aim  at  it,  and  perse- 
vere, will  come  mjch  nearer  to  it  than  t  ose 
whose  laziness  and  despondency  make  them  give 
it  up  as  beyond  them." 

It  is  an  age-old  lesson  that  the  archer  whose 
arrow  is  to  hit  the  mark  must  aim  at  a  point 
above  that  mark,  and  the  masters  of  the  interior 
life  repeat  the  lesson  in  a  hundred  varying  forms. 
The  Christian  who  limits  his  aspirations  and  his 
efforts  simply  to  the  rivoidance  of  mortal  sin  sel- 
dom in  the  long  run  achieves  even  that;  and  the 


254 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


■11 


priest  who  remains  quiescent  and  supine  in  a' 
state  of  tepidity  can  hardly  escape  the  commis- 
sion of  unnumbered  deliberate  venial  sins  alto- 
gether incongruous  in  one  of  his  sacred  calling. 
The  failure  of  such  a  priest  to  follow  Christ  in 
positive  and  energetic  fashion  is  not  so  much  a 
matter,  as  he  may  affect  to  consider  it,  of  his  at- 
taining a  lower  or  a  higher  degree  of  glory  in 
heaven,  as  it  is  a  matter  of  his  getting  to  heaven 
at  all.  Lukewarmness,  clearly  recognized  and 
complacently  indulged  in,  is  assuredly  no  pass- 
port to  the  Kingdom  whose  Ruler  has  said:  "I 
would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  But  because  thou  art 
lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  begin  to 
vomit  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  Apoc.  Hi,  15,  16. 
No  latitudinarian  concept  of  priestly  obligations, 
no  tolerant  theory  that  is  the  offspring  of  habitual 
negligence  and  laxity  and  listlessness,  will  avail  to 
alter  the  truth  which  sooner  or  later  the  most  im- 
perfect cleric  will  be  obliged  to  face, — that  in  en- 
tering the  priesthood  he  embraced  a  state  of  per- 
fection, and  that  one  of  his  prime  and  inescapable 
liabilities  therein  is  the  leading  of  a  holy  life,  the 
imitation  of  Christ. 

It  is  obvious  of  course  that  this  imitation,  even 
in  the  best  of  us,  will  be  sadly  imperfect;  that 
our  greatest  efforts  will  enable  us  to  follow 
Christ  only  at  a  long,  long  distance;  but  there  is 
no  ridding  ourselves  of  the  responsibility  of  mak- 
ing those  efforts,  and  no  prospect,  either,  that 
there  will  ever  come  a  time  when  it  will  be 
easier  to  make  them  than  it  is  at  present.  On 
the  contrary,  the  Itmger  we  put  off  remodeling 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


255 


our  life  in  downright  earnestness  on  the  pattern 
of  Our  Divine  Lord's,  the  harder  will  we  find  it 
to  begin  the  necessary  work,  and  the  slighter  will 
be  the  probability  of  our  persevering  therein. 
Procrastination  is  not  only  the  avowed  thief  of 
time,  but  the  sworn  enemy  of  spiritual  conver- 
sion. If  our  lives  have  any  need  of  reforming  in 
order  that  we  may  "be  made  conformable  to  the 
image  of  His  Son,"  we  cannot  too  speedily  set 
about  beginning  the  reformation. 

Assuming  that  we  do  stand  in  need  of  at  least 
some  measure  of  reform,  how  is  it  to  be  effected? 
How  can  we  verily  and  indeed  imitate  Christ, 
and  what  shaU  we  do  to  follow  Him?  In  the  first 
place  we  can  do  the  preUminary  work  by  re- 
calling, meditating,  and  thoroughly  saturating 
our  minds  with  the  fundamental  principles  on 
which  our  whole  life,  aU  that  we  are  and  do 
should  be  based.  God's  glory  is  the  essential  end 
aud  purpose  of  our  existence;  it  is  the  very  raison 
d'itre  of  our  lives.  "For  none  of  us  liveth  to 
himself;  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For 
whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord;  or 
whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord.  There- 
fore, whether  we  live  or  whether  we  die,  we  are 
the  Lord's."  Rom.  xiv,  7,  8.  "And  every  one  that 
caUeth  upon  My  name  (saith  the  Lord)  I  have 
created  him  for  My  glory,  for  this  I  have  formed 
him  and  made  him."  Is.  xliii,  7.  Commenting 
on  the  words  of  Ecclesiastes,  "Fear  God,  and 
keep  His  commandments:  for  this  is  all  man," 
St  Augustine  asks:  How  can  we  put  a  more 
wholesome  truth  into  fewer  words?    Fear  God 


256 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


g*w»i 


and  keep  His  commandments:  thif  is  all  man. 
All  man,  indeed,  is  there :  This  is  true  of  every- 
one; he  is  a  keeper  of  God's  commandments;  if 
he  is  not  that,  he  is  nothing.  The  image  of  the 
truth  cannot  be  refashioned  in  him  in  whom 
dwells  the  likeness  of  vanity." 

God's  commandments  are  the  expression  of 
His  will;  and,  if  we  are  ever  to  imitate  Christ  in 
any  real  and  effective  sense,  we  must  clearly  go 
to  the  root  of  the  matter  and  conform  our  will 
to  God's.  Following  Christ  is  doing  the  will  of 
His  Father,  as  is  evident  from  dozens  of  passages 
in  the  Gospels,  notably  ih  these  from  St.  John: 
"Jesus  saith  to  them:  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will 
of  Him  that  sent  Me,  that  I  may  perfect  His 
work." — "Because  I  came  down  from  heaven,  not 
to  do  My  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
Me." — "My  doctrine  is  not  Mine,  but  His  that  sent 
Me.  If  any  man  will  do  the  will  of  Him,  he  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or 
whether  I  speak  of  myself." — "And  he  that  sent 
Me  is  with  Me,  and  He  hath  not  left  Me  alone: 
for  I  do  always  the  things  that  please  Him." 
Obviously,  therefore,  the  first  essential  step  in 
any  endeavor  to  r>  model  our  life  so  that  it 
may  bear  some  genuine  resemblance  to  that 
of  our  Exemplar,  is  to  bring  our  wn  will 
into  thorough  conformity  with  God's.  iless  we 
habitaally,  and  as  it  were,  instinctively,  pat  God's 
glory,  God's  interest  above  every  otiier  consid- 
eration in  all  our  varied  activities,  our  ^111  is  not 
conformable  to  His,  and  we  are  not  following 
Christ  but  abandoning  Him.    If  our  will  centres 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


257 


upon  creatures  (using  the  word  in  its  most  ab- 
solute sense)  rather  than  upon  the  Creator,  if  it 
chooses  self-seeking,  ambition,  worldly  posses- 
sions, fame,  popularity,  personal  ease  and  com- 
fort, luxurious  apartments,  dress,  food  and  drink, 
human  friendships,  social  pleasures,  etc.,  rather 
than  **the  things  that  please  Him,**  then  the 
needle  of  our  compass  is  deflected  and  our  life 
is  being  steered  astray. 

It  requires  no  very  lengthy  examination  of 
conscience  to  determine  whether  or  not  God's 
glory  is  our  principal  aim  in  life,  and  God's  will 
our  habitual  guide.  If  we  are  thoroughly  in 
earnest  in  conducting  the  examination,  we  read- 
ily discover  what  it  is  that  occupies  the  principal 
place  in  our  thoughts  day  after  day  and  month 
after  month,  what  affection  reigns  supreme  in 
our  hearts,  what  aspirations  or  ambitions  claim 
the  innermost  longings  of  our  souls.  The  mere 
fact  that  on  the  surface,  in  the  eyes  of  our  peo- 
ple and  of  the  world  generally,  we  are  leading 
exemplary  priestly  lives,  apparently  zealous  in 
performing  all  the  duties  of  our  sacred  ministry, 
will  not  blind  us  to  the  everlasting  truth  that  ex- 
ternal activities  are  the  mere  shell  of  good  works, 
and  that  unless  they  hold  within  them  the  kernel 
of  a  pure  intention,  unless  they  are  undertaken 
and  carried  out  solely  for  the  honor  and  glory 
of  God,  they  are  worthl«u  for  eternal  life.  "All 
the  glory  of  the  king's  daughter  is  from  within;" 
and  all  the  value  of  my  priestly  labors,  however 
multiplied  and  atreiiunus  they  may  be,  depends 
upon    the  -interior   motive    that   inspires    them. 


368 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


turns  on  the  question  whether  they  are  per- 
formed, primarily  and  principally,  if  not  solely 
and  entirely,  for  God's  glory, — or  my  own. 

Supposing  that  we  have  finished  the  founda- 
tion of  all  true  imitation  of  Christ,  h-ive  con- 
formed our  will  to  that  of  the  Father,  in  what 
specific  external  ways  may  we  exemplify  our  re- 
semblance to  the  Priest  of  priests  who  is  our 
model?  To  enumerate  them  all  would  be  to  write 
another  Life  of  Christ;  let  us  content  ourselves 
with  the  mention  of  only  a  few.  In  the  estima- 
tion of  the  great  mass  of  those  who  saw  Our  Lord 
during  His  sojourn  on  earth,  as  in  that  of  the  bulk 
of  mankind  from  His  day  to  ours,  the  outstand- 
ing characteristic  the  dominant  note  of  His  per- 
sonality was  perhaps  His  kindness,  gentleness, 
benignity.  As  emphasizing  this  quality.  His  whole 
life  has  been  compressed  into  five  words:  *'He 
went  about  doing  good."  Hence,  the  priest  who 
wishes  really  to  imitate  his  incomparable  Mas- 
ter must  do  likewise.  He  must  be  a  good  man, 
not  only  in  the  sense  that  he  is  irreproachable  in 
morals,  is  virtuous  and  pious,  but  also  in  the 
sense  that  he  habitually  does  good  deeds,  is  uni- 
formly kind  and  obliging,  delights  in  rendering 
service  to  others,  is  constant  in  doing  good  turns 
to  his  fellows,  is  gracious  and  charitable  to  the 
poor  and  needy,  is  sympathetic  with  the  sick  and 
sorrowing,  is  indulgent  to  the  young,  accom- 
modating to  the  old,  and  affable  to  all.  The 
priestly  follower  of  Christ,  in  a  word,  radiates 
kindness  and  sympathy  just  as  the  sun  radiates 
heat  and  light. 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


259 


The  AposUes*  estimate  of  their  Master's  pre- 
dominant quality  would  probably  so  far  differ 
from  that  of  the  world  at  large  as  to  give  that 
name,  not  to  His  goodness,  but  to  His  zeal.    And 
assuredly   not   without   warrant.    To  Him  in  all 
their  fulness  apply  the  words  of  the  Royal  Psalm- 
ist:   "For  the  zeal  of  thy  house  hath  eaten  me 
up:  and  the  reproaches  of  them  that  reproached 
thee  are  fallen  upon  me."    His  passionate  ardor 
for  the  glory  of  His  Father  is  manifest  on  every 
page   of   the    Gospel   narrative.    "I  am  come  to 
cast  fire  on  the  earth:  and  what  will  I,  but  that 
it  be  kindled?"— "Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of 
the  harvest,  thac  he  send  forth  laborers  into  his 
harvest."— "And  he  saith  to  them:  Let  us  go  into 
the   neighboring   towns   and   cities,    that   I   may 
preach  there  also;  for  this  purpose  am  I  come." 
—"And  His  mother  said  to  Him :    Son,  why  hast 
thou  done  so  to  us?   Behold  thy  father  and  I  have 
sought  thee  sorrowing.    And  he  said  to  them—. 
How  is  that  you  sought  me?    Did  you  not  l<now 
I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business?"    Thus  it 
was  ever  throughout  His  mortal  career;  intense 
eagerness  in  the  accomplishment  of  His  Father's 
will,    assiduous    concern    in    looking    after    that 
Father's  business,  characterized  the  totality  of  His 
thirty-three  years  on  earth. 

Similar  in  kind,  if  unequal  in  degrt  .  must  be 
the  zeal  of  a  priest  of  whom  it  may  be  said  with- 
out patent  incongruity  that  he  is  a  veritable  fol- 
lower of  Christ.  In  the  sphere  of  his  pastoral 
influence  he,  too,  is  constantly  busy  about  "the 
things  that  are  God's."  is  never  weary  of  promot- 


980 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


I' 


m 


1:1 


til 


i 

wi 

ing  the  glory  of  the  Father,  the  interests  of  His 
Church,  and  the  spiiltual  welfare  of  thos^  en- 
trusted to  his  charge.  He  takes  as  addressed  to 
himself  individually  the  monition  of  St  Paul  to 
Timothy:  "Lahor  as  a  good  soldier  of  Christ 
Jesus.  No  man  being  a  soldier  to  God,  en- 
tangleth  himself  with  secular  business;  that  he 
may  please  him  to  whom  he  hath  engaged  him- 
self. .  .  .  I  charge  thee,  before  God  and  Jesus 
Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  living  and  the  dead, 
by  his  coming,  and  his  kingdom:  Preach  the 
word:  be  instant,  in  season,  out  of  season;  re- 
prove, entreat,  rebuke  ip  all  patience  and  doc- 
trine. .  .  .  But  be  thou  vigilant,  labor  in  all 
things,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  fulfill  thy 
ministry."  Translating  this  advice  into  twentieth 
century  terms,  the  present-day  imitator  of  our 
Divine  Exemplar  is  truly  zealous,  not  merely  in 
preaching  the  word,  after  due  preparation,  on 
Sundays  and  holydays,  and  in  thoroughly  cate- 
chizing his  children,  but  in  organizing  sodalities 
and  confraternities,  in  promoting  frequent  and 
daily  Communion,  in  fostering  adoration  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  the  sweet  cult  of  our  Blessed 
Mother,  and  other  special  devotions,  in  furnishing 
his  people  with  the  occasional  opportunity  of  re- 
ceiving the  manifold  graces  of  a  Mission  or  a 
Triduum,  in  looking  after  the  best  interests  of 
his  school,  and  in  encouraging  by  every  means 
in  his  power  the  apostolate  of  the  Catholic  press. 
If  there  is  one  specific  phase  of  Our  Lord's 
character  which  His  priestly  follower  will  espe- 
cially strive  to  acquire,  it  is  perhaps  the  tender- 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


261 


new  evineed  in  His  account  of  Hir>»t  «r  as  the 
Good  Shepherd.     Surely  no  cleric  to  whom  has 
been  confided  the  cure  of  souls  needs  a  stronger 
incentive  to  spend  himself  in  recalling  to  their 
duty  the    negligent,    indifferent,    or    recalcitrant 
members  of  his  Jlock   than   is   furnished   by   a 
perusal  of  that  deathless  idyl,  the  Parable  of  the 
Lost  Sheep.    "What  man  of  you  that  hath  a  hun- 
dred sheep:   unrl  if  he  shall  lose  one  of  them, 
doth  he  not  l^uvo  fhe  ninety  nine  in  the  desert, 
and  go  after  tliat   /  hicli  >^..6  UsU  until  he  find 
it?    And  when  he  hath  touud  it,  lay  it  upon  his 
shoulders,  rejoicing:     /vnri    oming  home,  call  to- 
gether his  friends  iin<i  ueiglibois,  saying  to  them: 
Rejoice  with  me,  because  I  have  found  my  sheep 
that  was  lost?    I  say  to  you,  that  even  so  there 
shall  be  joy  in  heaven  upon  one  sinner  that  dofh 
penance,  more  than  upon  ninety-nine  just      i  ^ 
need  not  penance.**    There  are  in  our  day  c   n> 
paratively  few,  if  any,  pastors  who  have  noi       • 
quent,  not  to  say  daily,  occasion  to  display  ^^  im- 
ine  Christ-like  zeal  in  going  after  hardened  t,,i,~ 
ners,  or  fallen  away  Catholics;  and  the  measuie 
of  the  tenderness  and  patience  and  longanimity 
which  the  priest  displays  in  his  untiring  efforts 
to  win  such  souls  back  to  God  may  well  be  looked 
on   as    the   measure   in    which   he   imitates   our 
Divine  Model.    The  supreme  Good  Shepherd  gave 
His  very  life  for  His  sheep,  and  His  zealous  fol- 
lower will  put  up  with  much  before  abandoning 
even  the  most  reckless  and  stubborn  of  his  wan- 
dering flock. 

Another  respect  in  which  the  priest  who  is  a 


262 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


true  follower  of  Christ  may  appropriately  show 
his  zeal  is  indicated  by  the  Gospel  account  of 
Our  Saviour's  action  when  he  found  in  the  tem- 
ple them  that  sold  oxen  and  sheep  and  do^'  ;s,  and 
the  changers  of  money.  "And  when  he  had  made, 
as  it  were,  a  scourge  of  little  cords,  he  drove 
them  all  out  of  the  temple,  the  sheep  also,  and 
the  oxen,  and  the  money  of  the  changers  he 
poured  out,  and  the  tables  he  overthrew.  And  to 
them  that  sold  doves  he  said:  Take  these  things 
hence,  and  make  not  the  house  of  my  Father  a 
house  of  traffic."  John  ii,  U-16.  The  Church  in 
whose  tabernacle  reposep  the  Real  Presence  of 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  is  far  and  away  holier  than 
was  the  temple  of  the  Old  Law,  and  the  zealous 
priest  will  see  to  it  that  nothing  derogatory  to 
that  holiness  is  visible  within  its  walls.  Cleanli- 
ness and  neatness  w  •  characterize  every  por- 
tion of  it,  not  excepting  the  sacristy;  and  the  care 
given  to  the  sacred  vessels,  as  to  the  altar-linen 
and  the  vestments,  will  be  commensurate  with 
the  reverence  he  entertains  for  the  sublime  rites 
and  ceremonies  in  which  they  are  used.  Scrupu- 
lous attention  to  the  multiplied  details  of  those 
rites  and  ceremonies,  from  the  adorable  Sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  down  to  the  blessing  of  a  sacramental, 
is  one  sign  by  which  to  discern  a  priest  after 
Christ's  own  heart,  a  minister  of  the  altar  who 
can  not  only  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "I  have  loved, 
O  Lord,  the  beauty  of  thy  house;  and  the  place 
where  thy  glory  dwelleth,"  but  can  at  need  tes- 
tify that  he  has  obeyed  St  Paul's  admonition, 
"Let  all  things  be  done  decently,  and  according 
to  order." 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


263 


As  for  the  purely  personal  devotions  of  the 
priestly  imitator  of  Uic  Priest  Divine,  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  Life  of  Our  Lord  teaches  him  that 
prayer, — earnest  ar"!  frequent,  not  to  say  inces- 
sant, prayer, — is  a  iluty  from  which  he  cannot 
with  impunity  dispense  himself.  By  many  a 
weighty  word,  and  by  His  still  weightier  and  more 
persuasive  example.  He  has  taught  us  to  turn  to 
our  Heavenly  Father  in  any  and  all  conjunctures, 
— in  peace  and  calm  as  in  storm  and  stress,  in 
sorrow  and  care  as  in  joy  and  consolation,  in 
time  of  danger  as  in  the  not  less  distressing  peri- 
ods of  spiritual  dryness,  in  every  possible  crisis 
that  may  confront  us  here  below.  Needless  to 
say,  the  prayer  of  a  real  follower  of  Christ  will 
be  prayer  indeed,  the  expression  of  veritable 
heart-yearnings,  not  mere  verbal  formulas  per- 
functorily recited  and  interrupted  by  a  thousand 
and  one  more  or  less  wilful  distractions.  "But 
if  any  of  you  want  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God, 
who  giveth  to  all  men  abundantly  and  upbraideth 
not;  and  it  shall  be  given  him.  But  let  him  ask 
in  faith,  nothing  wavering."  James  i,  5-6.  "And 
this  is  the  confidence  which  we  have  towards 
him:  That  whatsoever  we  shall  ask  according 
to  his  will,  he  heareth  us."      1  John  v,  14. 

As  has  been  said  on  a  former  page,  the  es- 
sence of  the  imitation  of  Christ  is  the  doing  of 
God's  will;  and  this  is  only  another  expression 
of  the  thought,  "Fear  God  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments: for  this  is  all  man."  What  God's 
will  is  with  regard  to  His  priests,  what  specific 
commandments   or  laws   He   would   have    them 


264 


CLERICAL  COLLOQUIES 


keep,  is  succinctly  yet  comprehensibly  and  ade- 
quately set  fiMTth  in   a  modem   treatise   on  the 
spiritual  life,  a    few  passages  from  which  will 
prove  not  unwekome  to  our  readers.    "The  truly 
pious   priest   tdkes   great   pleasive   in   knowing, 
studying,  and  getting  a  mastery  of  the  laws  of  his 
state  in  life.    Does  he  not  find  everything  in  his 
litur^al    and    disciplinary    laws?  Seeking  God, 
forgetting  self:  this  is  the  whole  of  piety.    Does 
he  iiot  find  that  seeking  God  is  admirably  marked 
out  for  him  by  the  liturgical  laws?  and  forget- 
fulness  of  self  by  disciplinary  laws?    Here  he  has 
the    entire    form   of   his '  piety.  .    ,    .     The  good 
priest  knows  what  a  wonderful  treasure  he  has 
in  these  grand  laws  of  the  Church  his  mother. 
Moreover,  he  makes  them  the  favorite  sublet  of 
his    meditations,   spiritual    reading   and    silent 
studies.    Therefrom  he  draws  instructive  illumi- 
nation and  abundance  of  strength.    Th«  books  of 
the  Church  are  the  books  of  his  choice :  their  of- 
ficial ♦ext  is  the  favorite  food  of  his  mind.    And 
where  could  l»e  find  anything  more  beautiful  or 
more  wholesome?    Above  all,  where  could  he  find 
the  voice  and  will  of  God  better  expressed?  ... 
The  priest  should  make  the  liturgy  so  far  enter 
into  his  relations  with  God,  and  canon  law  into 
his  relations  with  men,  that  he  comes  at  last  to 
get  into  the  spirit  of  them.    Only  the  spirit  is  liv- 
ing, for  the  letter  is  dead Liturgy  and 

canon  law,  taken  in  the  letter  and  in  the  spirit, 
mean  sacerdotal  life  in  its  fullness  of  form,  the 
pHpst  raised  above  the  human  and  brought  near 
to  vjod,  the  ministry  of  holy  things  lifted  above 


THE  PRIEST'S  EXEMPLAR 


265 


the  lower  conditions  of  humanity  and  established 
in  the  region  of  things  divine;  in  a  word,  it  means 
that  the  priest  has  entered  into  the  fullness  of 
the  truth  and  power  of  his  vocation.'*^ 

The  soundness  of  the  foregoing  doctrine  will 
hardly  be  questioned.  Even  the  most  ardent  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  the  most  painstaking  imitator  of 
the  priestly  Exemplar,  can  scarcely  choose  a  bet- 
ter way  of  pleasing  Him  than  to  obey  His  Spouse, 
the  Church,  in  the  minor  as  well  as  the  major 
affairs  of  life.  Whoever  listens  to  her  voice  and 
heeds  her  counsels  need  have  no  doubt  as  to  the 
conformity  of  his  will  with  God's.  And  whoso- 
ever, prie«l  or  layman,  makes  the  will  of  God  his 
own,  has  no  other  will  than  the  Father's,  he  is 
in  very  deed  and  truth  a  follower  of  Christ,  close- 
ly Md  lovingly  imitating  Him  in  this  present  life, 
and  destined  to  see  Him  face  to  face  forever  in 
the  life  to  come. 


1  "The  Interior  Life.' 


Si 


-sfe 


f&v^fi^fl- 


^i^i^v..: 


INDEX 


Pa«e 

Adoration,  The  hour  of    164 

Tepidity  and 166 

by  proxy  166 

BhlrlUnflr lU 

reaily  easy  169 

Alphonsus,  St.,  on    tone    at 

Conaecratlon    6S 

Altar-boys  39 

Altar.  Approach  to  the 48 

How  not  to  kiss  it  60 

Anecdotlst.   The   lOl 

Angel's    part.    An    214 

"Angry  and  aln  not,  Be"  40 

Anti-CathoHc  periodicals 66 

Apologetic  work  la  the    press  67 

Ascetic  theology    81 

Booltson  81 

Study  of  2S0 

Avtla,    Father,    on    Thanks- 
giving    19 

Barrow,  on  wit 99 

Beads,  The   27 

Beard,  Dr.,  on  nervous  weak- 
ness    169 

Bellarmine,  Card.,  on  mental 

prayer  172 

Bernard,    St.,    on    spiritual 

reading  20 

Betten,  8.J.,  Father,  quoted.  64 

Blair  on  letters    89 

Blessed  Sacrament,  Visiting 

the 24 

Why  we  should  visit  the,  25,  26 
Blessed    Virgin,     The,     and 

priests  103 

Devotion  to  m 

and  priests  in  England 116 

in  the  Gospel  119 

in    tradition    121 

Childlike  trust  in 126 

Bodily  resistance    194 

267 


Page 

Bows  at  Mass,  Profound   48 

Breviary   at   thanksgiving...  18 

Broad-shouldered 47 

Broken  English  246 

Bruised  reeds 228 

Bulwer  on  dress 86 

Business  letters   78 

Businesslike  system    24 

Canon  Law 264 

Canning's  gentlemanliness.. .  39 
Care  of  church  and  sacristy.  .262 
Catholic  papers  and   maga- 

slnes    68 

Proper  contents  of 70 

Defects  in   71 

Centenarianism  186 

Centenarians  in  Ehirope 187 

Chalice,  How  to  carry  the 47 

At  what  height  to  hold  it..  49 

At  offertory    52,  66 

At  end  of  Mass  66 

Chesterfield,  on  good-breed- 
ing    36 

on    letters    76 

Christ  in  rank,  A 249 

Church,  The,  defined 19» 

Human  side  of 2O6 

Loyalty  to   198 

Clark,  Champ,  on   wit 92 

Cleric,  the    ultra-practical...  16 

Clerical  Club,  At    the 281 

Clerical  Wit  and  Humor 92 

Cleric's  Correspondence,  A. . .  76 

Common  sense 226 

Confessional,  Too  long  hours 

«n   226 

Stories  of   the 106 

Confessions,  Multiplied 284 

Confessor  needs  to  study 222 

Conformity  to  God's  will 266 

Consecration,  Voice-tone  at..  63 


268 


INDEX 


'0: 


I 


Converaation,  Bwlft  (m U9 

Correapondence,  A  aerlc'a...  76 
Corwln,  Oovernor,  on  Jokes . .  M 
Courteous   abroad,    curt    at 

home 39 

Creatures,  Instead  of  Creator  »67 
Crosses  at  Mass,  Sise  of...  63 
Cur«  d'Ars  as  confessor J27 

Dally  Conimunion  and  loyal- 
ty   S0« 

Daily  meditation 13 

Dsath,    without    the   sacra- 
ments     145 

Real  and  apparent I6O 

Uncertain    signs   of 161 

Meditation  on 173 

Death-rate  of  pr-ests. . .  .189,  190 
Decker,    Thomas,   quoted....  28 

Devotion  to  Our  Lady in 

to  the  sick  and  dyingr 146 

Devotions,    Minor 11 

Major 18 

Dialogrue,  A  Rubrical 42 

Dignity   of   the   priest 14S 

Dining-room    stories 106 

Disloyal  query,  A 2O8 

Dress,  of  a  gentleman S6 

and  vow  of  poverty S6 

Foppish  and  slovenly 36 

Perfection  of 37 

Drum,  S. J.,  Father,  quoted..  162 
Dry  Mass,  Fr.  Tom  Says  the  42 
Duration  of  life.   Average. .  .188 

£2atlng   and    exercise 247 

Eccl.    Review   quoted 69 

Economy,  Clerical    236 

Bdincation  and  rubrics 69 

EJnvy  restricts  praise 86 

Epiphanius.  St.,on  Our  Lady  121 

Et,   A  superfluous 51 

Etiquette  37 

Elxemplar,    the    Priest's. ..!. 249 
Bxtreme  Unction,   Prepara- 
tion for 147 

Fatalinn   132 

F*nelon,  on  little  things 12 


Pa«« 

Fops  and  slov«is M 

Forgiving  sins til 

FormaUsts  and  their  oppo- 

■"••  M 

Francis    de    Bales.    St.,    on 

mildness tt 

on  direction  of  souls  tt 

on  little  virtues  ]§ 

on  spiritual  reading    U 

Gentleman,  The  Priest  a M 

Defined  n 

Newman's n 

Oentlemanllness,  and  charity  tS 
A   fallacy  about St 

Gentry gg 

Genuflecting  after  the  Con- 

'    secration  m 

At   last    Gospel n 

God's  will  and  His  permls- 

■«<»»   m 

Grammar,  Violations  of 244 

Grant,  Oen.,  on  broad  storiM  104 
Growth  In  Holinssa a 

Hands,  extended 4g 

at    Pater    Noster 17 

Handy  illustration,  A lOS 

Hansjakob.  on  neurosis ISS 

Hay,  Bishop,  on  obedience.  ..2M 
Hedley,  Bishop,  on  Catholic 

press 7f 

Heuser,  Rev.  Dr.,  quoted VO 

"High-brow"  enthusiasm 14 

Hobby,  A  good 241 

Holiness  demanded  in  priests  20 

Homer  nodding 24t 

Hour  of  adoration.  The 144 

How  to  aid  Cath.  press 7| 

Humor,  defined tt 

a  sense  <rf 109 

Hypocrisy  at  retreats 17i 

Ideals,  Scoffing  at 254 

A  fallacy  about 281 

Ill-breeding SK 

Index,    The,    and   periodi- 

<=al8    ea.  44 

Indulgenced   prayers It 

Infallibility    of    Church 204 


INDEX 


269 


Pace 
IntMior  Lift,  Th«,  quoted. . .  17» 
Isidore,  St..  on  prayer  and 

readtnc  21 

Johnson.  Dr.,  on  rudeness..     S9 
Jokes,  Oov.  Corwin  on 98 

Keatlnce.    Canon,    on    Our 

L*dy  116 

Klliinff  two  birds,  etc 19,  344 

Kindness   to   the  sick 158 

Kyrle,  elelson,  Where  to  say 
the 49 

lAst  Sacraments.  The 146 

Latin,  Pronunciation  of 287 

Letters,  spiritual go 

Social 83 

Occasional     84 

and  the  retreat 87 

Leisure    for 88 

Blair  on 89 

A  rondel  on   96 

Lifetime   of    priests.    Aver- 
age   190,  191 

Limerick,  A 244 

Llp-Ioyalty  212 

Literary  style 22 

Little  things n 

Little  virtues.  The 39 

liturgy  264 

Long-armed  47 

Longevity  of  Priests.  The..  181 

Long  life,  Spirago  on 181 

and  efficiency i84 

Lost  sheep.  The 261 

loyalty  to  the  Church 198 

Lukewarmness    264 

Man  of  Sorrows.  Greeting  to 

the  27 

Manners    aad    morals 34 

Marlolatry   117^  122 

Marlborough  and  pertness...    86 
Mass,  Thanksgiving  after...     13 

the  greatest  of  acUons 16 

Mechanician.  'Hie  divine IM 

Meditation  on  death 173 

Mental  prayer 172 


Pace 
Method,  and  spiritual  reading   IS 

the  hinge  of  business 78 

Mike  Buliivan'fl  (saminatlon  108 

Mlnimlser  rebuked,  A BO 

Minor  devotions n 

Missal,  Preparing  the 4< 

Missouri  priests,  Lifetime  of  191 
Monslgnors |$t 

Nervous  diseases 154 

Newman's  Oentleman Jl 

Notions,  Compulsory 165 

Obligations  to  support  Cath. 

papers  72 

"Of  course"   abused IM 

OiBce,  The,  as  thanksgiving    18 

Old  age  In  Shakespeare 188 

Open   air   exercise 194 

Orate,  fratres,  Tone  for 68 

Outings,  Spiritual i«| 

Over  the  Teacups,  quoted..  192 

Pajanfas,  Purple 289 

Parents,  "Poor  but  Irish"..     31 

Letters  to $3 

Particular  examen 27 

Paten,  The,  at  offertory...  62 
Pedometer  and  lower  Jaw..  107 
Perfect   health   and    "good" 

health 193 

Perfection  of  priests 252 

Pickwickian  cleric,  A 208 

Piety  is  cheerful 95 

Politeness,  Genuine 15 

Power  of  the  priest.  The 219 

Practice  makes  Imperfect..  250 

Praise^  A  word  for 86 

Prayer,   Genuine HZ 

Prayers,  "pro  opportunltate'      18 

to  be  known  by  heart 58 

Preparation   for  death,    Re- 

"note    148 

Preparing    the    missal 48 

Press,    Definition    of «2 

Obligation  to  the  Cath 72 

Priest  a  Gentleman.  The...  28 
Priest  In  the  Slck-Room,  The  146 
Priest  and  the  Press,  The...     61 


870 


INDEX 


Pmo 
PriMt's  Bteemplar,   Th*....  M* 

PriMt'i  Vistta,  Th« IM 

PriMthood  a  aUte  of  par- 

feoUon,  Tha 170 

FrtaaUr  Loyalty  to  Church. .  IM 

Prteatly  wlta,  Fomoua 100 

Purlfleator  Improparly  htfd..  U 
Puaey  nn  Uttlo  thtnca 11 

Qulnr.   ^ther  John 40 

Quara  and  Mothar,  Our....  Ill 

Raadable  booka n 

Raalatance,  Bodily 194 

Ratraat.  Monthly 170 

Why  wa  make  a 171 

Annual  or  biennial 176 

Retreat-maater,  The  true. . .  177 
Rhyma  of  tha  Read,  A....  l»« 

Rubrical  dlalosue,  A 4S 

Rubrtca.  Knowledge  of SIO 

Sainta,  sorrowful  and  aorry.     OS 

Witty   M 

Sanford.  Dr.,  quoted....  1B4,  166 

ScofRng  at  Ideals SCO 

Sheridan,  on  wit M 

Shortening  erne's  days 147 

Slck-Room.  The  Priest  in  the  146 
Sick,  The,  and  their 

"Father" isj 

Siding  with  the  Pope S07 

Silence  during  retreats 176 

Sisters,   Visits  to 141 

Bzceptlonal  and   typf- 

cal  14a.  143 

Slovens  and  fc^s 86 

Spirago,  on  long  life 181 

Spiritual  Director  and  Pliy- 

alclan   157 

Spiritual   Outings I68 

Spiritual  reading 20 

St.  Francis  de  Sales  on..    81 

Its  real  nature ao 

Booka  for 28 

Split  Inflnltlve,  The 846 

StatloQs.  The 87,  170 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  on  spell- 
ing       89 

Stole,    The   Violet 214 


■^imcmam^^ 


PIX* 

Study   of   words 11 

Styla,  Uterary tt 

Slovenly 79 

Subdeacon,  An  awkward 840 

•un,  The 67 

Swelled  heart,  not  head....  86 

Swift,  on  wit 98 

Telegram,   An   altered 888 

Thackeray,  on  a  gentleman  88 

Thanksgiving  after  Mass...  18 

I.<ength   or   brevity   of 16 

and  tndulgenced  prayers. .  18 

and  the  office 18 

Theology,  Ascetic 81 

U.  S.  Public  Health  Service.  196 

Vincent  de  Paul,  St.,  quoted    11 

Violet    Stole,    The 214 

VtolU  to  the  Bl.  Sacrament. .    84 

Visits,    The    Priest's    188 

Pastoral 181 

Social  188 

Dangerous 137 

to  Sisters 141 

Visiting  Rome 888 

Voice  at  Mass 61 

At  Orate,  fratres,  etc 68 

At  Consecration   61 

Vulgar  stories 104 

Walking 196 

Walpole  and  civility 86 

Wapelhorst,     formerly    and 

now  49 

Way  of  the  Cross,  The 87.  170 

Week-end 164 

Wit  and  Humor,  CJerical. ...  92 

mt,  defined 98 

in  the  Bible 97 

Barrow  on 99 

Words,  Study  of 88 

Works  on  ascetic  theology. .  81 

Writing  as  a  hobby 348 

Yellow  journals 66 

Zeal,  or  ill-temper? 40 

Zealous   priest  In  actlcm...  860 


